#not only did they both lose their fathers (who were in law enforcement)

[frankiebirds]

started binging criminal minds, i was gutted when elle left & now watching the next couple of s2 episodes i really felt her absence. especially in 'the last word' when a women has to pretend to be dead so they can catch one of the serial killers (they so needed to have a frank convo about making elle relieve her trauma + this couldve been a great intro to that). i read your post, i agree it did make sense why elle left considering her background as a sexual offence specialist & what she says to reid but i found the writing lacking. her exit felt rushed + not final bc she only really shared scenes with hotch. also she also seems the type to not wanna give up the bau bc that would mean the fisher king wins + is a determined person so it would've been better to see her slow realisation she cant do the job she desperately wanted in s1. also the fact her relationships with the rest of the team + their reactions weren't fully explored is annoying since she was quite friendly with everyone particularly close to morgan, reid even gideon. especially since gideon inadvertently caused her get shot as he didnt want to follow the rules then said elle would understand?? so a confrontation w gideon similar to the one w hotchner wouldve been nice. i miss morgan's fun bantery friendship with elle in the later eps when she wasn't there to partner up with him (idk they seemed to be a go to partnership to me) & the elle/morgan/reid trio is sorely missed. ive largely enjoyed everything so far (just finished 2x09) but i wish they'd more deeply explore the characters' history. like the inclusion of reids mom was interesting & really liked how garcia respected reids privacy to keep her illness a secret. it was a missed opportunity i felt not to see elle & morgan not bonding over losing their cop dads or hotch and gideon talking about fatherhood when hotch is missing out on his babys key milestones (ik there was that bit in s1 when hotch tells gideon to get in touch w his son but more of those moments wouldve been nice). whilst i feel the team all like each other and there's some interesting/fun friendships (reid&gideon , garcia&morgan etc) id be nice to have some downtime scenes showcasing them as a makeshift found family (sorry i love that trope & c'mon they spend more time with each other than with their acc families). anyway sorry for the long rant this show is eating at my brain lord my brain mass will be equivalent to a pea by the time i finish this show. <3

thats fair and i get what you mean! there are definitely moments when i felt elle's absence and there are definitely things about her leaving that i would change if i had the power—i absolutely agree that the reactions from the rest of the team to her leaving and the actions leading up to it were sorely lacking, and a slower realisation that she cant do the job anymore would have been very cool to see, although i think the latter was less due to writing problems and more to the fact that elle left the show because lola glaudini chose to leave (ie they couldn't write a fully fleshed out leaving arc for elle because it was driven by out-of-show events and therefore not planned/they had limited time to execute it). the lack of reaction from the team is a writing problem though, so again i very much agree with that!

i hope you enjoy the rest of the show and get some of your wishes, and if you dont, you can find some good fics to fulfill them <3

[yuurei20]

Riddle Info Compilation part 1: Upbringing

Riddle has a voice line of, “I read that the Queen of Hearts had a very amicable marriage. If there’s a secret to that, I wish I could share it with my parents.”

We do not hear much about his father, though he do know that both of his parents were (past tense?) famous magical healers.

Trey says that “Everyone where we’re from knew their names. His mom was especially talented, and she really wanted Riddle to live up to her legacy.”

We learn from Trey that every aspect of Riddle’s life growing up was planned down to the minute, including what he ate, wore, what soap he used and who his friends were.

Trey says that Riddle obediently completed every task he was assigned in order to please his parents, mastering his unique magic by the age of 10, and turning the enforcement of strict rules into a major part of his own personality.

When asked what job he would like to have in the future Riddle responds, “A…medical mage, I suppose”, saying that he was raised to take up the same mantle as his parents, but after serving as Heartslabyul’s housewarden he has taken an interest in the legal profession.

Riddle has a similar conversation with Azul, saying that becoming a medical mage was his original plan but he has developed an interest in the law. Azul recommends that he gets licensed in every field that interests him, saying, “Wth your talent, you could excel in any field you wanted. It would be a waste to settle for just one!”

Azul says, “It’s frustrating to see so clearly the difference between me and someone who’s worked hard their whole life,” and Riddle responds that he doubt that Azul would have the same ambition and drive that he does to day if he had focused solely on his studies that way that Riddle himself did as a child. 

Azul warns, “One moment of inattention and you might find me giving the valedictorian speech at graduation,” but Riddle responds, I’ll continue to stand at the fore as long as I’m in school—and after it as well. I won’t lose to anyone, ever. Not even you.”

Azul makes a comment on how “one has to make sacrifices to make their dreams a reality” which seems to resonate with Riddle.

Riddle is good at crossword puzzles because they were the only form of entertainment that he was allowed growing up. Riddle says that, as a child, he started creating his own crossword puzzles so that he could give them to Trey and Chenya one day. (He was never allowed to see Trey and Chenya again, however, prior to NRC, which would explain why he now has a collection of over 3,000 handmade crosswords.)

There are occasional references to how Riddle is still learning things about normal, everyday life for a student his age due to his harsh upbringing: he apologizes to Deuce for failing to “learn the appropriate customer etiquette” while purchasing mystery bags during News Year’s, which he heard from Cater is “a popular youth activity.”

Riddle says that he never participated in the Halloween events for children in his hometown so he is not well-informed on what goes on, but he does say that he only ends up drenched when bobbing for apples, so he may have some experience from somewhere.

Riddle says his household “wasn’t overly concerned with holidays” so they didn’t do anything in particular for Halloween.

“In fact, I wasn’t even allowed to walk around outside on days like this. I was a little jealous of kids who could dress up and go trick-or-treating.”

Epel responds, “Your parents sound really strict. But you don’t have to follow their rules now that you’re here at school, right? This is your chance to let loose and have fun!”

Riddle says he will consider it, and Epel invites him to celebrate in his hometown.

[teecupangel]

Ezio x Desmond, modern au, where ezio is head of the Italian mob/Assassin branch, and Desmond is his lover that's into extreme sports/stunts. Any thoughts?

I was thinking what extreme sports or stunts Desmond could be into and the first thought that came into my mind was skydiving, mainly because of the leap of faith. Another idea was maybe intense absolutely not legal motorcycle racing. And I thought “why not both?” so…

Ezio is the capo of an Italian mob that used to be part of the Brotherhood. They separated around the 16th century and rose as one of the most secretive shadowy criminal organizations in Italy. Their operations are more in line with being enforcers, making sure none of the other mobs are trying to rise higher than their status without their approval.

In a sense, they’re sorta policing the mobs.

Ezio, in this case, would become the head because of an organized hit on his family that killed his father and brothers. The mobs that had a hand in their deaths thought they could cripple the Auditores enough that they would lose their standing as enforcers but, instead, they simply realize that the Auditores were ruthless to those who wrong them. Many mobs were taken out in the following years as Ezio made them pay with blood and riches.

He would meet Desmond a few years after his hatred and rage had been satisfied and he is now officially the head of the Auditores. They would meet by chance when Ezio was invited to skydive by a head of another famiglia who wishes to ally themselves with the Auditores. Of course, Machiavelli, who serves as Ezio’s main consigliere, would have done a background check of everyone who would be there and give Ezio his report.

That’s where Ezio would see Desmond for the first time. Desmond is serving as a skydiving instructor and he seems to just be an ordinary law-abiding civilian… except for two things:

He is a regular participant in intense motorcycle racing that was definitely against the law

His birth certificate was a well made forgery.

Of course, this being Machiavelli, he would dig deeper and he would find out that Desmond didn’t exist nine years ago. A little bit more digging and he would find clues (but no confirmation) that Desmond is related to the Assassins.

Now, in this setting, the whole Assassin and Templar thing still exists so the Great Purge still happened. The Italian Brotherhood was hit hard and the ones that did survive were taken in by the Auditores and became their soldato and some have even risen to the rank of caporegime. The Templars keep an eye on them but do not engage as they hold too much sway with the other mobs, effectively being the unofficial king of Italy’s underworld. In exchange, the Auditores ignore whatever Abstergo is doing in Italy as long as it does not hinder any of the mobs’ operations. They do keep a list of mobs who cooperate with Abstergo and they’re added to the Auditores’ shit list which makes it a big deterrent for the mobs to collude with Abstergo willy-nilly.

On the other hand, the Auditores and the Brotherhood have a tense cordial relationship. The Brotherhood believe that they sully the Auditore name, especially Ezio who bears the same name as Ezio Auditore da Firenze from the 15th century who they believe to be one of the greatest Assassins in history. The Auditores believe that the Brotherhood is stuck in the past and that they refuse to acknowledge how, during the latter years of their legendary Ezio Auditore da Firenze, he had been the one to spearhead the transition of the Italian Brotherhood into the Auditore Famiglia. This leads to them having a tense relationship that boils down to “you do me this favor and I’ll owe you one” kind of deal with the Brotherhood although the Auditores only always cash in on what is owe of them, never requesting anything from them.

And it’s that tense relationship that made Ezio interested in Desmond, wondering if he was some kind of plant that the Assassins have sent to keep an eye on this deal or some reason. That maybe perhaps the mob that wishes to form an alliance with the Auditores were in league with the Templars or the Assassins.

(They’re not, skydiving instructor is literally Desmond’s day job and this is just one big coincidence)

So Ezio decides to agree to this meeting, not to check the mob but to check this… ‘Derek Milton’.

Unorganized Notes:

Ezio would be his charming self and would flirt with Desmond, half to see his reaction and half because Ezio do think Desmond is handsome.

Desmond is used to the flirting but he could sense something dangerous about Ezio that he finds himself attracted to.

Desmond’s pretty much attracted to dangerous things in this ‘verse. He became a skydiving instructor because it means he can skydive for free. He participants in illegal races because of the thrill of it. And Ezio? Ezio feels like the most dangerous thing he had ever been close to.

They have sex the day they first met. A quickie in some place that they could totally get caught in.

Ezio keeps coming back after that and they have sex after every skydive. It’s the thrill and danger that keeps Desmond with Ezio. For Ezio, it’s the mystery behind Desmond’s past and the growing desire to see him.

At some point, Claudia (who serves as sottocapo) just tells Ezio to keep Desmond because all this skydiving shit is dangerous with how many ways it would go so wrong and they would be too late to prevent it or save Ezio.

When Desmond learns that Ezio is a mob boss, he’s just like “Oooohhh. That’s a nicer job than I was thinking.” “What did you think my job was?” “CEO.”

Desmond pretty much becomes his sugar baby. He quit his job as a skydiving instructor and Ezio bought him his own helicopter to use for skydiving. Desmond loves it because it’s actually more intense to skydive from a helicopter than skydiving from an airplane.

Of course, Desmond had to give up motorcycle racing because it is illegal which meant that it would be easy to tie Desmond to it if he continues and, in the process, tie the Auditores to it.

In exchange, Ezio just takes him to watch the official intense motorcycle races all over the world. Desmond figured it was a good alternative since… they do have their own helicopter and the hotel rooms are always top-notch. (Ezio likes it because Desmond is always hot and bothered after every race)

Desmond learns how to drive a helicopter… because he now has a lot of free time whenever Ezio does his capo thing.

There is a man who stays in the main mansion of the Auditores as more of a beloved guest. He’s more or less an unknown artist and his works are usually considered to be too much like Leonardo Da Vinci’s works that he’s kinda considered as some kind of joke by many artists. He is Ezio’s best friend and he just likes making art or whatever strikes his fancy, once even learning how to program just because. Everyone just calls him ‘Leo’ and the Auditore mansion is filled with his paintings and sculptures. He also paints Desmond sometimes when he feels like it. Desmond just goes along with it because it’s not like he has anything else to do.

Maria is in charge of the mansion that Desmond stays in. She thinks Desmond is just one of Ezio’s many flights of fancy but she does warm up to him quickly enough, to the point that she tells Ezio that, even if they break up, she’s adopting Desmond so he can stay. “I… I don’t know how to feel about that…” “Your feelings do not matter for this, Ezio.” “Madre!”

Claudia likes Desmond enough. She knows he has no interest in the whole mob thing (as Desmond likes to call it) and is staying because he loves Ezio and that’s enough for her.

Machiavelli is the one who is still sus of Desmond but he is cordial enough with him. Kinda has to be, considering Ezio is truly smitten with Desmond. Machiavelli also made sure Desmond’s forged documents are airtight so it doesn’t bite them in the ass later on.

Because of this, Desmond did have to come clean with his past and that’s when Ezio started to call him ‘Desmond’. (Before that, Ezio just keeps calling him different pet names because Desmond never liked hearing Ezio say his fake name when they were having a ‘moment’)

Desmond knows Ezio does bad things and he doesn’t try to spin it into anything good. His moral compass is skewered anyway considering his childhood upbringing so the whole mob business is just okay with Desmond. He does worry whenever Ezio comes back and there’s blood in his clothes but hearing Ezio say it’s not his blood gets him hot and bothered.

It does get to William Miles that Desmond is with the Auditores but he can’t do anything about it. Not when the Auditores are one of the few real allies the Brotherhood still have. What he does do is check in every few days, just to… check up on Desmond, probably? Bill never tells anyone why he keeps doing it.

For the same reason, the Templars stay away from Desmond because they don’t want to incur the wrath of the Auditores.

[deviloutofluck]

if you’re hearing LOSING MY RELIGION by REM playing, you have to know KAYAAN DHAWAN (HE/THEY; CIS MAN) is near by! the 35 year old UNEMPLOYEED has been in denver for, like, 2 YEARS. they’re known to be quite PESSIMISTIC, but being RELIABLE seems to balance that out. or maybe it’s the fact that they resemble RAHUL KOHLI. personally, i’d love to know more about them seeing as how they’ve got those WET PUPPY, TOO MANY DRINKS & NOT ENOUGH SLEEP, WILL BEEF WITH YOUR GRANDMOTHER vibes. and maybe i’ll get my chance if i hang out around the LAKERIDGE DISTRICT long enough!

TW: crime, murder, childhood abuse/neglect, law enforcement & prison

Kayaan grew up with his mom, dad and three year younger sister. His mom was a scientist and the back-bone of the family, basically doing everything around the house whilst also working fulltime. The dad had some on-and-off type of jobs, often quicker gigs, but spent the majority of his time at home "looking after the kids" - as he so often framed it.

Life was neither bad nor good up until one fateful day when Kayaan was around the age of 10, in which his mom failed to come home from work. Their mother has always been vague about the type of job she had and the projects she took on, never sharing more than she had to to keep people from asking further. By the end of the day she paid the bills and kept her children happy, which was all that mattered.

A body was never found and the police themselves showed little interest in the case, forcing the otherwise aloof father of the house to step up in his role. Or, he should have, one would think. The dad became more agitated by the day, now forcing his children to care for the house while he got busy "working his butt off". The sister often became the outlet for the dad's anger and misfortune, with Kayaan doing his best to aid his sister when possible but sometimes it only seemed to make things worse.

School became a burden and once the basics were wrapped up and done, Kayaan and his then best friend Ricky dropped out to pursue other goals. Those goals quickly turned into a life of petty crimes, with the best friend putting together a small group of goons for hire. It didn't make anyone rich, but it was enough to keep them both afloat - and in the moment, that was all that mattered.

The peace was not to be, as Kayaan suddenly found himself smitten by Ricky's current girlfriend Faye. They did their best to stay in line, not wanting to stir up any trouble, but when he found out that she she felt the same about him... what was he to do? They both began to talk about the possibility of leaving, perhaps starting over somewhere quiet and nice. A second chance. However, they got caught by Ricky before they could discuss it any further and a few days later the girlfriend was found missing.

Kayaan thought she had perhaps left without him, he wouldn't blame her, but nothing could prepare him for the truth that would unveil a few weeks later - she was murdered.

To Kayaan it was obvious who had done it, but law enforcement thought otherwise, soon arresting him on the accounts of her murder. The papers were no later to soak up the story about a temperamental, jealous man who couldn't bear the thought of seeing his crush with another man and thus took the matters into their own hands. The case was basically settled before it even began and soon enough Kayaan found himself locked up in prison for a crime they hadn't committed.

It would be close to a decade before any justice would be brought to the table and sadly in the happenings of a second murder by the hands of Ricky. Thus, he was finally allowed to walk free once more and being cleared of any and all accusations - but it didn't wash off the now years wasted behind bars or the tarnish to his name and face as many would still associate them with the criminal case.

He decided to sue the government for wrongful conviction and won big and for the past year and a half, Kayaan has been staying on his sister's couch in Denver; drifting around, dwelling on his future and what to do with it. The money is keeping them going as of now, but it's bound to run out sooner or later.

[wheelercore]

I'm not sure how my much inspo the duffers took from Prisoners (2013) or to what extent they borrowed details from the movie to the show but... The overall ideas are pretty interesting.

#1 being that Holly Jones specifically kidnapped children from religious families to make them lose their faith (to "wage a war on god") after her own son died of cancer. The Creels were heavily implied to be a religious family (at least Victor was), with Henry was possibly influenced by the mindflayer/taken by Brenner. Henry's character could also been possibly influenced by Holly himself as Henry's monologue to El about "unnatural structures" and human "order" could be him referencing religiousity- Christian moral structures to be extact. However where Henry got those ideas considering he's been locked in a lab since he was 12 is suspect. The Byers arent shown to be particularly religious but Will's kidnapping by the UD (the MF? Henry? Demogorgon?) is 100% inspired by Anna and Joy's kidnapping in Prisoners so... Just in interesting thought.

Both Barbara and Will were taken, Will is confirmed gay and Barbara being queercoded. Henry parallels Will (whether Henry is queer is up in the air but personally I think there's some heavy ND coding there) and you have a pattern of "different" children from a christian small town similar to the one in Prisoners perhaps being contacted in some form or another by the UD.

Leading to the second point-

#2 the people who were most punished in the movie by law enforcement and the families (Keller fuck you for real) were those who were the most victimized by Holly Jones herself. Alex was kidnapped by Holly and his mental disability (he's a grown man at this point but is still mentally 10 years old) is caused by the trauma of his kidnapping. Bob was also kidnapped by Holly and escaped after 3 weeks, the after affects of his trauma making him recreate obsessively child abductions with details similar to his own. Both these characters clearly suffer from some sort of severe damage to their psyche because of what was done to them- as a result they look the most "suspicious" when the girls are taken by Holly. Alex is taken hostage by Keller (the father of one of the missing girls) and repeatedly beaten and tortured for information, Bob is taken into custody by the police where he later commits suicide.

It's clear to see the inspo for this is the idea that when Will was kidnapped much of the town was either under the impression that he was hatecrimed or kidnapped by another "queer" (Troy quoting his father and the disgusting association back then people made between gay men and pedophilia). An already vulnerable population (one that Will we learn belongs to) blamed for Will's own kidnapping.

It's also important to note that in the movie the police did look into sex offenders in the area, but nothing turned up. They most likely also suspected Alex and Bob themselves to be of that sort, the plot twist of the movie being that it wasnt a kidnapping of that nature at all- it was Holly Jones driven by the desire to wage a war against God and turn families like hers against faith. To me, that adds a much more interest twist to the (contentious) SA allegories in ST- especially since the movie was the initial inspo for the show.

Finally, I think this is the most important theme that ST picked up from this movie in all honesty:

#3 The Oppressive Cycles: Holly wanted to make other families grieve and turn into "demons" like she had when she lost her son (this is seen in Keller who goes onto abuse one of Holly's own victims unknowingly). Doing this she took Alex, one of her own traumatized victims, and made him take part in what was done to him by her. Holly says herself in the end that Alex never put a hand on any of the children, only brought them to her and she decided if they would "stay". Most likely Alex had no clear understand of what he was really doing despite taking part in the disappearences of 16 (?) children. He was being manipulated by her while actively being held hostage even if he didn't recognize it and this point is made clear as Holly tells Keller. This is one of the most important final moments of the movie- the moment when Keller realized he had became what Holly wanted him to become, a demon like her. He even went as far as to do on a smaller scale what she did: kidnap and hold hostage someone powerless to him. To add salt to the wound, it's the same person Holly victimized herself.

And it doesn't end with Keller. Detective Loki's violent questioning of Bob before Bob kills himself- Holly had turned them all into "demons" like herself like she wanted. They both end up victimizing someone vulnerable, someone "weird" and "different" because their truama (initially inflicted by Holly) made them suspicious to those who did not care to understand. Keller at some point even excuses himself by stating that he believes Alex is pretending to be disabled.

In the end, Keller is stuck physically in a hole Holly threw him in- metaphorically the hole he dug himself into- and he blows his daughters red emergency whistle to get detective Loki's attention. The movie ends there but it's implied that Loki saves him. It's Keller, after a whole movie of rejecting Loki and his advice, finally asking for someone, anyone, to help him. He will most likely be punished for what he's done to Alex, but he's accepting that responsibility.

The whole movie follows this idea of perpetuating what was done to you, all ending with Holly who decided that others like her had to feel the same grief she did. It's about not dealing with your pain, or being unable to because youre trapped, so lashing out seems like the only way to break out.

These cycles are so pertinent to ST. Billy Hargrove and his father. Henry's behavior recruiting those (like El) whom he believes is like himself and his plan to destroy the structures that have trapped him and failed him. I don't believe it's a conincidence that Holly explicitly wants to turn others into "demons" and that's the exact wording Henry used to describe himself.

Now do I believe that Henry is directly inspired by Holly Jones? Or is he inspired by one of her victims? It's iffy. It really depends on what will be revealed in s5.

[colin-blackwood]

Colin Blackwood ♦ Cis man (He/ Him) ♦ 52 ♦ Law Enforcement ♦ Detective Chief Inspector

“Honestly? I’d rather stick my dick in a blender than hear another one of those lies.”

divorce tw, siblings death tw, murder tw, guns tw

Colin was born in Leeds (Yorkshire) in 1970. His mother worked in a canning factory while his father worked in one of the many collieries of the region. With his elder brother, they’d gone to public school with hopes and dreams and yet the dooming realization, as years passed, that there was no rising from their condition. Colin’s brother started working in the mines, but on his fourteenth year, in 1984, miners went on strike across the country to protest Thatcher’s decision to close 20 coal mines. Although the strike went on to last a whole year, his father and his brother lost their jobs, eventually, as the mines shut down permanently. His father went on to find a new job in the months that followed, but Colin’s brother, Henry chose to stop following his father’s footsteps and instead joined one of his friends at the fire department.

Colin loved hearing his brother’s stories over Sunday lunch, and he told himself that one day, he too would have stories of his own to tell the family, and you could say that he managed to do just that.

He started as a constable and slowly but surely made his way up the hierarchy. An arrest he made in 2001 earned him a spot on the front pages of local newspapers as he put an end to the macabre career of a serial killer. He was offered a book deal and a position as an instructor at the London Police Academy, but both were refused by Colin, who didn’t want to stray away from his mission. Leeds was however growing a bit too small for him, and he made them a counter offer : he wouldn’t work for the Academy, but he’d love a place in one of their precincts. London would be a nicer place for he and his wife to raise their unborn child. But when one Blackwood brother was met with success, one was met with a much darker fate. Colin had been working in London for a week when he received a phone call from his mother to let him know that his brother had perished in a fire. The perspective of becoming a father might have been the only thread that kept Colin from drowning in his sorrow then, but as years passed, feelings of guilt and helplessness replaced the pain of loss, and it was through burying himself in work and accepting more cases that Colin made it through his days. His attitude led the pair to an inevitable divorce, one which Colin never really blamed himself for.

Although he eventually recovered from losing his brother so soon, Colin finds it sometimes difficult to let things go, and tends to get obsessive working on cases. He can count on his partner not to let him fall into the rabbit hole.

Recently, Colin gathered the attention of the press on another serial killer case he’d solved, but this time, not for the same reasons. Having shot the man dead during the arrest, he’s now under investigation to figure whether his actions were justified.

+ / -  hot headed, honorable, faithful, gruff, dutiful, logical, traditional, easily angered

Every now and then, he’ll get phone calls from True Crime podcasters regarding his 2001 arrest. Although he never once agreed to one of these, requests still end up in his professional inbox anyway.

While he doesn’t particularly resents the Conservative Party for what they did to his family (after all, the Labor Party also shut down collieries), Colin has an unspeakable hatred for Margaret Thatcher. He may have peed on her grave at some inebriated point.

The serial killer that Colin shot was an arsonist and it is the belief of some people that the detective acted the way he did because his brother died in a fire that had been the handy work of another arsonist.

Although Colin doesn’t precisely spend a lot of time out of work, he will make time for his daughter. They can spend hours on jigsaw puzzles, but another favorite activity of the pair is going to the movies.

[archivelondonfalling-rpg]

Colin Blackwood ♦ Cis man (He/ Him) ♦ 52 ♦ Law Enforcement ♦ Detective Chief Inspector

"Honestly? I'd rather stick my dick in a blender than hear another one of those lies."

divorce tw, siblings death tw, murder tw, guns tw

Colin was born in Leeds (Yorkshire) in 1970. His mother worked in a canning factory while his father worked in one of the many collieries of the region. With his elder brother, they'd gone to public school with hopes and dreams and yet the dooming realization, as years passed, that there was no rising from their condition. Colin's brother started working in the mines, but on his fourteenth year, in 1984, miners went on strike across the country to protest Thatcher's decision to close 20 coal mines. Although the strike went on to last a whole year, his father and his brother lost their jobs, eventually, as the mines shut down permanently. His father went on to find a new job in the months that followed, but Colin's brother, Henry chose to stop following his father's footsteps and instead joined one of his friends at the fire department.

Colin loved hearing his brother's stories over Sunday lunch, and he told himself that one day, he too would have stories of his own to tell the family, and you could say that he managed to do just that.

He started as a constable and slowly but surely made his way up the hierarchy. An arrest he made in 2001 earned him a spot on the front pages of local newspapers as he put an end to the macabre career of a serial killer. He was offered a book deal and a position as an instructor at the London Police Academy, but both were refused by Colin, who didn't want to stray away from his mission. Leeds was however growing a bit too small for him, and he made them a counter offer : he wouldn't work for the Academy, but he'd love a place in one of their precincts. London would be a nicer place for he and his wife to raise their unborn child. But when one Blackwood brother was met with success, one was met with a much darker fate. Colin had been working in London for a week when he received a phone call from his mother to let him know that his brother had perished in a fire. The perspective of becoming a father might have been the only thread that kept Colin from drowning in his sorrow then, but as years passed, feelings of guilt and helplessness replaced the pain of loss, and it was through burying himself in work and accepting more cases that Colin made it through his days. His attitude led the pair to an inevitable divorce, one which Colin never really blamed himself for.

Although he eventually recovered from losing his brother so soon, Colin finds it sometimes difficult to let things go, and tends to get obsessive working on cases. He can count on his partner not to let him fall into the rabbit hole.

Recently, Colin gathered the attention of the press on another serial killer case he'd solved, but this time, not for the same reasons. Having shot the man dead during the arrest, he's now under investigation to figure whether his actions were justified.

+ / -  hot headed, honorable, faithful, gruff, dutiful, logical, traditional, easily angered

Every now and then, he'll get phone calls from True Crime podcasters regarding his 2001 arrest. Although he never once agreed to one of these, requests still end up in his professional inbox anyway.

His daughter, Inaya, is currently studying medicine at London College.

While he doesn't particularly resents the Conservative Party for what they did to his family (after all, the Labor Party also shut down collieries), Colin has an unspeakable hatred for Margaret Thatcher. He mayhave peed on her grave at some inebriated point.

The serial killer that Colin shot was an arsonist and it is the belief of some people that the detective acted the way he did because his brother died in a fire that had been the handy work of another arsonist.

Although Colin doesn't precisely spend a lot of time out of work, he will make time for his daughter. They can spend hours on jigsaw puzzles, but another favorite activity of the pair is going to the movies.

FC: Jeffrey Dean Morgan

[bleakfated]

INTERACTIONS. HEADCANONS. PHOTOS. IISMS. WISHLIST. OPENS. SC.

STATISTICS

BASICS: name: jody lynne mills age: late 30s-40s gender & pronouns: female, she/her sexuality: pansexual faceclaim: kim rhodes occupation: hunter, sheriff location: sioux falls, south dakota

PERSONALITY: positive traits: strong, levelheaded, devoted, witty negative traits: overprotective, suspicious, stubborn, sarcastic

APPEARANCE: scars: small one across left eye, various others on torso and back from hunting tattoos: antipossession lower stomach/hip piercings: none

VERSES

BIOGRAPHY

TL;DR

Jody pursued a career in law enforcement after losing her parents in a hit and run accident when she was a senior in high school. The culprit was never found and she vowed to help bring people to justice and give families the closure they all deserved and that she had never gotten. After the police academy, she married her long-time boyfriend Sean Mills. They settled into Sioux Falls and started their family with their son Owen. However, tragedy soon struck in the family again when he died from meningitis when he was only six years old. A few years later when he came knocking on the door, the grieving couple did not ask any questions. However, Jody refusing to question the uprising of the dead around town led to her finding out that monsters were real in the worst way possible. Sam Winchester saved her from her zombie son, but only after he had eaten Sean. After this, Jody initially became an ally to Bobby Singer and the Winchester brothers before slowly becoming a hunter herself, though, her sheriff job was always her top priority. After some time, she soon became a mother figure to many young girls affected by the supernatural, including Alex, Claire, Patience, and Kaia.

FULL BIO

Jody was born on June 16, 1976 to two loving parents Max and Laura Parker. Her childhood passed rather uneventfully. It was a normal suburban life. Unsure of what she wanted to do with her life, she struggled through most of high school with trying to find the right career path. However, tragedy struck during her senior year of high school when her parents were both killed in a hit and run on the highway, which people could only assume was due to a drunk driver since the car had crossed into ongoing traffic, causing her father to swerve. The culprit was never found, making it an easy decision for Jody to pursue a career in law enforcement to help other families get the justice she never did. Throughout the remainder of high school and college, Jody was supported by her grandmother Christine.

A few years after graduation from Sioux Falls University and the police academy, Jody married her long-time boyfriend Sean Mills. They were friends in high school but did not start dating until they were a few years into college. The two settled together in Sioux Falls, which was only a couple of hours from her grandmother’s home in Kimball. The couple had a son together which they named Owen. Jody climbed up the ranks of the police force in town and eventually ran for sheriff and won the election. Unfortunately, things did not stay good for long and Owen fell ill at only six years old with meningitis and could not be saved at the children’s hospital. Jody and Sean were beyond devastated at the sudden and tragic death, but they stayed strong and pulled through the loss together. During this time period in her life, she had a few run-ins with someone she considered a drunk troublemaker named Bobby Singer, but she could never seem to get any solid evidence against him.

One morning, Owen showed up at the front door. Jody did not know what to make of it, but the devastated mother that she was, she accepted him with open arms. She didn't want to ask too many questions and have him taken away from her again, she didn't know if she could survive that. One morning at the diner, she ran into Sam and Dean Winchester who were claiming to be FBI agents. When she called their supervisor, she recognized Bobby's voice right off the bat and warned all three of them not to try anything. She soon arrested the Winchesters for going after another person who had came back from the dead, because she could not let them come after her son. Owen soon fell ill again, bringing back all of those terrible memories. Jody hoped it was a simple sickness, but came home after work one night to find Owen eating Sean.

Luckily for her, Sam is there to save her, but informed her that she could not save Sean because he was already gone. Sam killed Owen and Jody joined forces with him to save the town from the impending zombie attack. Unbeknownst to her, this began her long journey of interacting with the Winchesters and Bobby when she encountered the supernatural, and she eventually grew to consider them good friends. A while after this first encounter, she helped Bobby escape from FBI investigators when he had a dead body in his house and also begrudgingly helped his friend Rufus Turner escape from prison. She warned the pair they had a short amount of time before she alerted the police of Rufus's escape and also threatened Bobby that he would be in trouble if she lost her job over this.

Following a surgery a bit of time later, she realized that her hospital was full of monsters and actually watched a leviathan eat her roommate. She ended up passing out on the hurried journey back to her room and woke up to the doctor that ate her roommate telling her that he would see her soon. Panicked, she called Bobby who was able to get her out of the hospital safely. A bit later, she found Bobby in his hideout and offered to cook for him as a thank you for saving her life. She also decided to do a bit of cleaning because having a clean house was clearly not on his priority list. When she accidentally spilled some of her cleaning supplies, they were able to figure out the weakness of the leviathan, Borax. Bobby was so ecstatic that he kissed her for it. When it was time for her to leave, he gave her the head of the leviathan that he'd had captive to toss into the river.

Over the next few years, Jody has many run-ins with the Winchesters, sometimes helping them with cases and other times calling them in to help her. She started to take cases within the surrounding areas of Sioux Falls on her own, unable to sit with the idea of not helping out with the monsters she now knew about. Being a sheriff was of top priority to her, because she enjoyed it and didn't know how else she could pay for things and couldn't imagine living without a semblance of a normal life. One of her run-ins with monsters soon changed her life for the better. When she walked into the sheriff’s station after getting a call about a teenager caught breaking and entering, she found a vampire taunting a young woman. She was quick on her feet and decapitated the vampire with an axe.

She called Sam and Dean in to take care of more vampires that were likely to come for the girl, Alex. Jody found out that her real name was Annie Jones and had been kidnapped years prior. The girl no longer had any living relatives. Jody took the girl who insisted on being called Alex to a cabin for protection. Very quickly, Jody developed an attachment to the young girl that had been a lure and bloodbag for the vampire coven for eight years of her life. Alex's vampire "mother" Celia found them and tried to feed Jody to newly bitten Alex, but she refused because of how kind Jody had been to her. Celia tried to kill Jody instead, but Alex saved Jody from Celia with dead man's blood. The Winchesters were able to cure Alex of vampirism and Jody decided to take care of her, empathizing with the girl for having lost her whole family... as messed up as her family was.

A few months later, Jody was forced to attend a sheriff’s retreat in Hibbing, Minnesota. She was paired with another sheriff named Donna Hanscum and at first was pretty unhappy about it as the woman was far too perky. However, when Donna’s ex-husband was an asshole to her while they were at the bar together, Jody stood up for her. At the retreat, the subject of animal attacks in town was overheard by Jody and after some investigating she called on Sam and Dean to help out. Donna witnessed fangs and thus was initiated into those that know about the supernatural. Donna proved to be a valuable asset and after the vampire problem was taken care of, the two women spent the night talking through other monsters and how to kill them. This friendship blossomed and the two often helped each other with possible cases as well as started to hang out as friends.

About a year after she took in Alex, Claire Novak showed up on Jody’s doorstep after the Winchesters give her Jody’s information. She was the daughter of the Winchester's angel friend Castiel's vessel and she was eventually left without either of her parents and forced into life at a group home. She found a lead on her missing mother, but watched an angel kill her mother in front of her rather than have a reunion and a shot at anything close to the life she had had before her father became Castiel’s vessel. At first, Claire and Alex do not get along, Alex believing that Claire only brought trouble. The two bickered over dinner with the Winchesters which led to Jody initiating a sex talk with the both of them after finding out from Claire that Alex was planning on sneaking away to Jody's cabin with her boyfriend. The three of them were soon kidnapped by vampires seeking revenge on Alex and were rescued by the Winchesters.

Jody was badly injured in the fight, however, and the two teenagers bonded over making breakfast as an apology to her. After that, the girls understood each other a lot better and became good friends. Not too long after Jody was healed up, she caught a hunter named Asa Fox in a lie about being an agent when he was in town on a ghoul hunt. The two quickly became more than friends after a wild night that involved roller-skating after tracking down the ghouls and he would pop into town whenever he could. Jody received a call that Asa had died around a year after they had met. She attended his wake with the Winchesters and ended up possessed by the demon Jael that Asa had been tracking down, informing everyone that Bucky had been the one to kill Asa and not the demon. After this experience, Jody got an anti-possession tattoo on her hip to avoid it ever feeling the helplessness of being possessed again.

A few months after that, Claire and Jody were at odds again because Claire felt that Jody was suffocating her attempts to hunt. She went off on her own because Jody would barely let her out of the car and lied about where she was and what she was doing to prevent Jody from trying to stop her. Jody received a voicemail from Claire stating that she needed to hunt on her own for a while, but that she was ready because she had a mother like Jody to get her ready for it. Though Jody was worried about her safety, she tried her best to come to terms with it. Meanwhile, Alex enrolled into nursing school and insisted that she did not want to be very involved in hunting and that she could not stay with Jody forever because she felt that she would always be putting her in extra danger. However, Alex started to soften to the idea of helping ID monsters and dispose of bodies as well as hone in on her shooting and combat skills.

Around a year after Claire went off on her own, Jody was contacted by the Winchesters to help a psychic named Missouri Moseley find a wraith that was killing psychics. Jody and Dean were able to save Missouri’s granddaughter from the wraith, but Missouri had been killed by it Patience expressed that her father told her to ignore her psychic abilities and live a normal life and Jody pulled her to the side and told her she needed to follow her heart. Jody had learned from trying to stop Claire from what who she was had not worked and was never the right decision in the first place. She gave her a card with her number on it and said that she was always available if she needed someone to talk to. She didn’t hear from Patience until she showed up on her doorstep claiming she had a vision that something bad was coming.

The Winchesters were asking for help tracking down a girl named Kaia Nieves and soon after Jody couldn’t get ahold of them. She called Claire and left a voicemail explaining the situation. Claire came home immediately and the women were able to save Kaia from a monster. As they are performing an autopsy on the creature, they are all forced to flee Jody’s home as Patience had a vision that cloaked figures were coming for them. Jody called in Donna for further backup and Kaia and Claire were able to save the Winchesters from The Bad Place, but Kaia died in the process. Jody held a distraught Claire arms and had a heart to heart with her that night. Claire finally understood why Jody was so protective over her.

After that, Jody found room in her home to house all three young women. Alex started slowly hunting on her days off from nursing. The three girls got along well and Claire was often training them up between cases of Jody’s while working out how to avenge Kaia’s death. It was eventually revealed to Jody and the Winchesters that Kaia’s killer was Kaia from the alternate reality of The Bad Place. Because Claire is still healing from losing her first love, Jody decided to keep this a secret from her. It was found out months later that Kaia was still alive and trapped in the Bad Place. Jody was convinced by Castiel to stay behind from the rescue mission because he doesn’t believe Claire could survive losing both Kaia and Jody, but she could survive losing Kaia again. Jody still wasn’t too sure about the second part, so she decided to not tell Claire until she knew it was a real thing.

Kaia was rescued by the Winchesters and Jody was ecstatic to reunite her with Claire. She took Kaia in as well and having four girls needing a place to stay she realized she would need a bigger home and sold her current home in Sioux Falls opting for a larger one. Jody would have never guessed this would be the pathway for her life, but all of the girls in her life are very important to her. After everything with Claire, she will always lead with the mantra that they can decide what they want to be and what they want to do and she will always be there to support them through it. The young network of hunters seem very determined in cutting down on monster populations in a more humane way than the secondhand tales of how the British Men of Letters had in Britain.

[roguepen]

More Artbreeder - Part Two

The Graves grandparents, a great aunt, Quincy, Cassandra and Elihu.

Atticus Theodore Graves- Wampus

Tall, handsome and from a well respected family, Atticus was someone who could have been anything he desired, but after getting punched in the face by a freckly Seed girl during his second week at Ilvermorny, he decided what he wanted was to knock this pint-sized egoist down to size. Which led to seven years of one of Ilvermorney’s greatest interstudent conflicts as the pair vied for the top of the class. Atticus to become an Auror like his uncle, and Ophelia to become a Healer for the acclaimed New York Hospital for Magical Maladies. The competition ended in the tie, the pair losing the valedictorian slot they had been fighting over to Armista and having to share salutatorian instead. Atticus went on to serve in active combat in the war against Grindelwald. He proposed to Ophelia after they were both done with their respective apprenticeships and home from the war. He became a dedicated and acclaimed Auror, playing a leading role in reshaping the department to be more educated on diverse magic and encouraging MACUSA to offer accreditation to smaller more traditional cultural schools in Magical America. In retirement, he travels as a lecturer and runs a cold case group with other retired Aurors, law enforcement officials and interested civilians. Over the years the group has been active, they have put 22 old cases to rest.   

Ophelia Anne Turing- Thunderbird

Small in stature but fierce like a Hidebehind, Ophelia grew up as the fourth of seven children (and the only daughter) in an apartment in a rough part of New York. Her father owned the apartment building and operated a small distillery in one of the empty rooms to make ends meet during the Depression. As a Seed, a person with nonmagical parents, Ophelia was taken from her family (who were threatened and magicked into silence by MACUSA officials) to study at Ilvermorny where she would become a top student and academic rival to a young man named Atticus Graves. She served as part of a medical detachment in the war against Grindelwald, soon fully taking charge of the station and wrote the guidebook on essential spells healers needed to know for combat care and fought to ensure that Healers also received basic combat training in defensive spells after she killed an enemy operative who tried to blow up their aid station. Ophelia’s early life created a tough, ambitious and driven woman who had an unshakable fascination with politics that she passed down to her eldest son.

Armista Rosamund Graves - Horned Serpent

Atticus' twin sister and younger by seven minutes, Armista often joked about being both the best looking twin and the one who got all the brains in the family. She joined her brother Atticus in the Auror department, serving in active combat against Grindelwald’s forces before taking over as her unit’s combat medic. After the war Armista made immense contributions to how MACUSA trains their Aurors, specifically in creating a detachment of Aurors and law enforcement who have basic medical training and teaching all Aurors about some of America’s diverse magical practices. This enactment soon playing a major role in how the department is seen today as cohesive, well-trained and incredibly well regarded for their diverse cultural acumen. She never married, but raised her cousin Benedict after his parents passing. Armista ended her career by deciding to travel the world to study magical techniques and cultures from around the world. She writes frequently to Atticus and Benedict and is currently in Nepal while writing her book.

Quintin “Quincy” Laurent Graves - Pukwudgie

Quincy is every bit the ideal Graves son, well, at least after Alex left for Europe, but he was always Atticus’ favorite grandchild. Where his grandfather is grim and serious, Quincy is a buoyant personality who is quick to smile. He has a close-knit family who did not encourage him to follow the family tradition through tales of valor and talk of familial duty, Quincy chose this dangerous profession out of compassion for others and a fascination with his grandfather’s stories of pursuit of dark wizards. He obtained the top score in combat rankings during training, which encouraged Auror Chief Temperance Hanlon to mentor him through his apprenticeship seeing a real talent she wanted to nurture. The kindness in his countenance should not be confused for weakness.

Cassandra Rhys Barebone - Pukwudgie

A quiet, ambitious Seed from a family of Scourers, Cassandra grew up hearing tales of the witchcraft that threatened America and the secret war against such unnatural monsters from her extended family. Well, unfortunately, Cassandra’s mother had a pinch of unnaturalness about her that lit something in Cassandra. Due to her unique family situation, Cassandra was removed from her family to attend school in an unusual act from Ilvermorny and MACUSA. Cassandra soon met Quincy Graves at the Sorting Ceremony and the pair struck up a friendship, soon vowing to become Aurors together a few years later. Cassandra specializes in codes and infiltration under the guidance of her mentor Auror Mankiller, that does not mean she cannot duel as she took third in combat rankings. Where Quincy is lively, Cassandra is stoic and frosty, but they understand each other in a way that cannot be understated. The pair are now engaged.

Elihu Adler Weathers - Thunderbird

A widower with a unique view on life, Elihu Weathers is half convinced his life is a joke concocted by a disturbed, petty deity. Noted for opinions that are described as both honest, intelligent and on occasion, petulant, depending on who one’s speaking with. His early years as a lawyer led him to the MACUSA Senate, a position he relinquished before his first term ended out of grief for his wife’s sudden passing, being offered the position to take charge of MACUSA’s Embassy in London as a diplomat by President Cunningham was both an act to keep him in the political sphere and one of great trust as rumors of internal strife and the potential return of a powerful dark wizard reaches international ears. His only job was to keep the President informed about the Potter situation and this job has gotten incredibly out of hand.   

[soul-controller]

One Size Fits All: Christmas Onesie

Christmas day had finally come, but instead of enjoying the time with his family, Caleb only had one thing in mind: opening up all of his presents. Despite his difficult upbringing after losing his parents at the age of 10, there was no sort of appreciation or love shown for his adoptive parents who had saved him from that shitty foster home he was a part of. Before the death of his birth parents, Caleb had been living a comfortable life as the Marshall family had multi-million dollar companies that allowed Caleb to be showered with lavish gifts regardless of the cost. 

But after a tragic car accident took away both his grandparents and parents, there was no one able to take care of the elementary-aged Caleb, leaving the child to become part of the foster care system. Due to both his grief and his inflated ego, the child had constantly been a problem for every attempted foster family given his eagerness to lash out and spew vitriol towards anyone within arm’s reach. 

Although this issue caused constant problems for the foster home in terms of finding a suitable family to take the child in, it had been a dream come true for Caleb. At 16 years old, the teenager had formulated a plan where he would essentially emancipate himself and convince his parents’ law firm to allow him to dip into his trust early so he could survive. But not only did the lawyers ultimately say no due to enforcing the terms of not being able to touch the money until he was 18, there was a foster family that had quickly scooped up the kid before he could even initiate his plan.

For the next two years, Caleb had been absolutely livid having to live with people that he viewed as utter trash. Although the poor genetics of the Wallace family was quite lackluster in the looks department, the physiques of his newest family members were the biggest source of disgust for the cocky and toned 18-year-old: they were quite big-boned and big-bellied individuals! Richard, the father, was the worst culprit of all in Caleb’s opinion, with crooked teeth, a scraggly beard, and a big flabby gut that hung over the lip of all of his tattered jeans. The mother, Lisa, wasn’t safe from Caleb’s judgmental comments either though as the teenager always found time to point out her double chin and shame her for wearing clothes that seemed to be a size too small.

Despite the indefensible behavior of Caleb, the Wallace parents still loved their adopted son and hoped that one day he would be able to properly deal with his grief and learn to love them as much as they loved him. They obviously knew that their lower-class standards were a far cry from the life of extravagance that Caleb grew up with, but they still tried their best to give their son everything he could possibly want (within monetary constraints of course). So, even though Caleb had a huge dislike of his family, there was one redeeming factor about them: they always went all out for Christmas gifts. He knew that the family was poor, but he didn’t care that they spared no expense to keep him happy and feel loved. To him, he felt like he deserved it all given his rough upbringing and the fact that he just assumed parents should always sacrifice their livelihoods on behalf of their children.

So, as the morning sun rose over their house on Christmas morning, the Wallace family made their way into the living room to look under their small Christmas tree and begin opening presents. Of course, Caleb insisted that he went first, grabbing all of his marked boxes and pulling them over to one side of the living room. As his parents tried to force their widest smiles, Caleb began ferociously tearing up every possible box to reveal the contents within. To his amusement, he had gotten practically every possible video game and designer piece of clothing he had asked for!

As he exited and entered the room for the next 20 minutes to try on each possible article of clothing to verify that his family picked the correct sizes, Caleb began to pick up on some slight arguments between his adoptive parents. Although he didn’t care for the most part, he was able to decipher that the root of the argument was how much money they spent on his gifts to the point where Richard stated he was going to need to work nonstop overtime to pay off the credit card bills used for the purchases. Instead of feeling apologetic, Caleb’s face had a permanent smirk as he continued to walk out and passively thank his parents for getting just “some” of the things on his list.

When it came to Caleb’s behavior, Richard almost always found himself quite furious by his son’s cockiness. But instead of rage today, there was a slight giddiness in Richard’s eyes as he pulled out one more present from the couch and presented it to his son. “I saw this at a new shop in the mall the other day and just knew you had to have it. I hope you like it son!” Richard said, his Midwest accent ringing throughout the room due to his natural deep and booming voice. Immediately, both Lisa and Caleb stared at the box in wild curiosity as they each tried to figure out what this mystery gift was.

Snatching the gift out of Richard’s hand with haste, Caleb immediately went to rip the paper off and tear open the box. When seeing such a large box, the cocky track star had assumed that the item was something expensive, but as he looked inside, this was proven to be wrong. Instead of another piece of designer clothes, Caleb found himself face-to-face with a folded up onesie. Immediately, his face contorted into a look of annoyance, but that quickly shifted to disgust as he pulled up the article of clothing and watched it unravel to be something clearly several sizes too big.

“What the fuck is this? This is clearly at least three sizes too big!” Caleb angrily growled, disgusted that his father would even attempt to give him a gag gift like this. As he looked around for the tag, he saw the size 2XL alongside a store name: The S-C Shop.

“Caleb, I know it’s a bit too big, but don’t worry! You’re going to grow into it!” his father replied with a smile, quickly sending the egotistical young adult into a rage.

“Fuck that, I’m never going to fit into this onesie. I’ll never let myself get so out of shape like you guys!” he angrily screamed, causing both Lily and Richard’s faces to drop into an intense frown. On a day meant to be uplifting while celebrating life and family, the adoptive parents had finally reached their final straw with their son’s outbursts.

“Caleb Wallace, go put on that onesie right now for your father or you’re grounded!” Lily quickly exclaimed, crossing her pudgy arms across her hefty bosom in an attempt to look intimidating. After a few more statements back and forth, Caleb ultimately gave up on the fight, stomping off away from the living room to go put on the gross looking onesie. As he made his way out of the living room, he could only hope that wearing the idiotic onesie would make his parents leave him alone for the rest of the day so he could just play video games for the rest of the day. 

Upon entering the bathroom, Caleb quickly peeled off his tank top and athletic shorts so he was left in just his pair of orange Calvin Klein briefs. After taking another second to look and cringe at the onesie he had been gifted, the blonde-haired man unzipped the onesie and pulled himself into it. Immediately upon entering it, the thick fabric wasted no time causing the man to feel overcome with intense heat. Despite how much he was practically swimming in the oversized onesie, the loose fabric was still seemingly making quite an impact on his body. He knew that onesies were meant to keep people warm, but this fabric already had him sweating immensely from the neck down! Eager to just get the reveal over with, the man pulled the zipper up fully and began to waddle his way towards the living room in an attempt to prevent tripping.  

After shuffling onto the couch, Caleb was stuck in the onesie as his family proceeded with opening their few gifts for each other. Throughout the entire experience, Caleb found himself becoming more and more overwhelmed with the heat that was quickly overtaking his body. When Caleb tried to unzip the onesie slightly to allow some cooler air to enter the onesie, the teenager was stunned by his father angrily yelling at him to keep the onesie zipped up all of the way. Despite attempting to tell his father about how hot he was and his fear that he was having some sort of allergic reaction to the fabric, his father insisted that he kept it on and stated that he could take it off once they were done with presents.

During this whole debate though, Caleb was completely unaware of the fact that the zipped-up onesie began to enact the perfect Christmas revenge for such an ungrateful teenager. Firstly, it started with the man’s arms, as they began to immediately bulk up within the sleeves. His frail arms began to grow huge as a mix of flab and muscle packed onto his biceps until they better fit the once-huge sleeves. Distracted while the man attempted to fan his hands in front of his face to cool down, Caleb was unable to notice the thickening of his fingers as they went from spindly to resembling mini sausages. Not one to be left out of the growth, the teen’s forearms also began to grow thicker as well while bringing along a sudden influx of body hair to complete the transformation of his arms.

As the warmth continued to radiate across his body, Caleb was somehow blissfully unaware of the fact that the magically-infused fabric was continuing to further change his body. Up next, the man’s torso began to undergo the largest transformation yet. Beneath the fabric, Caleb’s tight six pack was slowly bulging outward until it gave the impression of him just simply having a rather large meal. But that tightness didn’t last for long however as the man’s rear end defied him and allowed a mild case of flatulence to escape from his body. As the gas escaped him though, the tightness in his stomach faded away yet the outstretched stomach remained as flab suddenly manifested in place. Within seconds, the man had been left with a slight gut that jiggled with even the slightest of movements… but the changes weren’t done yet!

Within a few minutes, Caleb’s slight paunch had turned into an undeniable bulging gut that was actually pressing against the shaggy fabric of the onesie. Feeling that tightness, the former twink looked down towards his stomach, causing him to finally realize just what was happening to his body. “Holy shit, I’m fucking fat!” Caleb cried out, looking up to his adoptive parents in pure shock as he cradled the foreign flab.

Although he was relieved to see his adoptive parents take his declaration seriously, their response didn’t meet his expectations. Richard looked at his son and delivered the ultimate blow “Son, you’ve always been big-boned, you’re a Wallace after all!” he said, chuckling to himself as he patted his hardened beer belly and looked at his wife and gave a wink. While Caleb just viewed this as some cruel joke by his adoptive father, the next statement from Lily proved that something strange was going on.

“Honey, I know you’ve always wanted to try and lose weight, but I don’t think you look bad at all! Just try to relax and try to enjoy the holidays with us!” Lily calmly stated, flashing a wide smile that Caleb somewhat found both calming and alarming. What was going on to his adoptive parents where they couldn’t remember who he really was?

I have never been overweight, I used to be a track star… right? Caleb thought to himself, growing confused as he suddenly found himself at odds with what was truth and what was reality. While he had remembered being a skinny track runner, there were new and stronger memories quickly making their presence known that urged Caleb away from track and towards another sport: football. Instead of being some frail track star, there were memories manifesting that showcased him as being one of the intimidating linebackers on his high school football team. In fact, the more he thought about it, the more prominence those memories took in his head as he thought about the various games he played. 

While Caleb continued to let his mind be rewritten to better match his evolving form, more changes began to occur as he sat back and relaxed in his chair. Taking a deep sigh of relief, his torso grew in response as his gut became wider and thicker while his modest pecs quickly pushed out to be a flabby pair of moobs. Upon the inclusion of the body hair that now adorned his doughy and pale stomach and chest, Caleb absentmindedly pulled down the zipper of the onesie to help provide some cool air towards his sweaty frame.

As new memories began to emerge for the bulging football player, Caleb soon began to remember the various injuries that his body had endured as a result of such an intensive sport. Hell, he could feel the pain of a broken shoulder as if it was yesterday (even though new memories told him it occurred back in his senior year of school). Wait, I’m not even graduated yet, Caleb thought to himself, closing his eyes and grimacing as he tried to locate the appropriate memory to match his inner commentary. But alas, his search came up empty-handed, only finding memories that reminded him of the fact that he had lost out on a college scholarship due to that injury nearly 10 years ago. He wasn’t 18, he was actually 27 years old and still living at home! 

Still sitting down as he slowly began to accept his new reality due to the confusion becoming too overbearing for him to endure further, the man’s lower half finally began to undergo the appropriate changes to match the rest of his upper half. Immediately, the man’s hips began to widen, creating an ass so wide that the addition of flab basically wedged the man into the now-small chair. But that wide expansion for his rear end wasn’t all though, as the man was oblivious to the fact that he was rising up several inches in the chair. Along with this, the predictable addition of body hair made its presence known as it quickly coated the man’s thick ass and even ran up the man’s back. Reaching a hand back to scratch his derriere due to a sudden itch, Caleb could feel the slight tingling of his still-expanding ass, but just attributed it to sitting down for too long. By the time it was all said and done, Caleb had absolutely been gifted an ass so thick and wide that it would certainly always make its presence known in any pair of pants that he ever wore. 

On the opposite side of his waist, the man’s crotch began to undergo its own changes as well. At first, the growth was a blessing, bringing the man’s moderate 4” soft dick to a more impressive 6” length. But as with the rest of his body, the sudden inflation via the infiltration of adipose tissue began to quickly negate that growth. With the thickening of his crotch along with the addition of a fat pad, that 6” soft length became only 4” of usable real estate. 

Further down, the man’s thin yet muscular thighs began to grow as they thickened up yet still maintained some muscle due to its necessity for lugging such a hefty body around. The slight thigh gap that he had quickly faded away as the thighs ultimately touched due to the expanded size. Continuing downwards, Caleb’s calves also lost their previous definition as they were replaced with thicker calves that would surely struggle against the smaller athletic socks he owned.

Now that the changes were done from the shoulders to the feet, the head was the final part of Caleb’s body to undergo its changes. At first it started simple, as the man’s long blonde hair began to quickly recede into his scalp. But as it continued to be reeled in, any onlooker could have noticed the color shifting as it began to grow darker to the point of being a dark brown shade, the same one that his new biological father had. The man’s once well-maintained eyebrows started to grow thicker as well, adopting a bushier appearance as the color darkened there as well. But as the man’s nose began to widen and grow thicker, his face also began to lose some of its youthfulness to better match his new age of 27. Due to the added weight gain all over his body, his face was not saved from such changes as well, as his cheeks grew chubbier, his neck grew wider, and his chin doubled to leave him with a rather round face. While most of this age progression would have seemed awful to the real Caleb, the growth of a thick and bushy beard would have been the one thing he would have loved (if that original persona was still around somewhere). Within seconds, the thick bristly facial hair pushed forth from his skin until he was left with a beard that certainly could rival the good old Santa Claus himself! 

With these final physical changes finishing up, the man’s mind was the last to undergo its transformation as it provided every essential tidbit of information to help the former Caleb Marshall adapt to his new life of Caleb Wallace. Memories of past relationships (with both men and women), late nights of going out to bars with his best friends and former classmates, and experiences of growing up in the Wallace household since birth all began to invade his mind as they completely replaced Caleb Marshall with someone better.

Opening his eyes after the memories finished replacing his old self, Caleb looked around and smiled as he watched his parents open their few presents for each other. Even without many gifts, they had the biggest smiles on their face, which made Caleb quite happy. Although his life didn’t turn out exactly like he wanted (such as his dreams of going pro for football), the overweight ex-jock was quite content with the life he had. Given the fact that he had lost the full-ride scholarship to play sports in college, the Wallace family had no way to help their son through college. But for Caleb, that wasn’t a total loss as he was able to find the perfect job: working at his father’s car repair shop. He had fond memories of working with his father out in their garage throughout childhood, so it just seemed like a natural evolution to do the same for a career as well! 

While it certainly wasn’t the ideal career that Caleb had in mind, the job paid well and it also allowed him to remain close to his family. Plus, his father had even promised to hand over the business to him one day once Richard retired. Although there was some strange voice in the back of his mind saying that he hated his family and they weren’t his real parents, Caleb shrugged it off since he knew that he loved them with all of his heart. They did the best they could given their financial situation and that was totally acceptable to the 27-year-old. In fact, the best gift of all wasn’t expensive items: it was being able to spend time with your loved ones.

Like what you read? Please consider signing up for my Patreon to read more stories and support my work.

[docgold13]

365 Marvel Comics Paper Cut-Out SuperHeroes - One Hero, Every Day, All Year…

April 29th -Electra

Electra Natchios had been the daughter of a wealthy Greek businessman. Following traumatic events in her childhood, Electra began private lessons in self defense and martial arts.  She excelled as a student of the martial arts to an extent that bordered on the super human.  Although she mastered many weapons, Electra was particularly drawn to a pair of sai knives; blades that would ultimately become her signature weapon of choice.  

When Elektra was an older teen, her father was appointed the Greek ambassador to the United States.  Electra traveled with her father to the states and enrolled in Columbia University where she met and began dating her classmate, Matt Murdock.  The two were kindred spirits and Electra and Matt fell very much in love.

Not long thereafter, both Elektra and her father were kidnapped by terrorists. Matt was in the early stage of his career as the costumed crimefighter, Daredevil, and he attempted a rescue.  Things went wrong and, though Electra was saved and the terrorists defeated, Electra’s father was killed.  It was a devastating blow for Electra that caused her to lose faith in justice and the balance between right a wrong.  She left Matt and traveled to locations across Asia to further hone her skills in the martial arts.  She ended up a student of the blind master, Stick, the same sensei who had trained Matt Murdock.  Stick sensed the burgeoning darkness and desire for vengeance in Electra; he feared that she was venturing down a path toward evil.  Stick did his best to steer Electra from this path but it was to no avail and Electra ended up falling in with the league of assassins known as The Hand.  

Electra quickly became an elite assassin with The Hand and the organization sent her on numerous sanctions all over the globe.  Due to her skill and proficiency, The Hand indulged Electra’s refusal to kill innocents or civilians and she was only dispatched to assassinate criminals, gangster and drug lords.  

One such assignment found her returning to New York and crossing paths with Daredevil.  Daredevil prevailed in preventing Electra from killing her criminal target.  Failure for The Hand was a death sentence and Electra and Daredevil found themselves fighting side by side in repelling The Hand ninja sent to kill her.  The pair succeeded and Electra came to discover Daredevil was actually her past love, Matt Murdock.  

Now free from The Hand, Electra remained in New York and became the top enforcer and assassin for the crime boss, Wilson ‘The Kingpin’ Fisk.  With her aide, Kingpin was able to more fully consolidate power in the criminal underground.    

he Kingpin’s operation became involved in a contentious lawsuit and Kingpin dispatched Electra to kill one of the attorneys involved in the case, Franklin ‘Foggy’ Nelson.  Foggy was Matt Murdock’s longtime friend and law partner and when he recognized Electra as Matt’s former girlfriend she was unable to kill him.  For her failure to take out Nelson, Kingpin sent the assassin Bullseye to take out Electra.  Bullseye’s skill and savagery proved too much for Electra and she was mortally wounded.  Elektra managed to crawl to Matt’s apartment building before dying in his arms as Bullseye watched from a distance.  

Members of The Hand stole Electra’s body and attempted to resurrect her. Daredevil, with the assistance of Stone, a member of Stick's order, intervened.  They defeating The Hand ninja and Daredevil ended up trying to revive Elektra himself. Although his attempt failed, it did have the effect of purifying Elektra's soul. Elektra's body subsequently disappeared, as did Stone.

It was later revealed that Stone had used the remained of his life essence to revive Electra.  She would go on to have a number of adventures.  She briefly partnered up with the Mutant hero, Wolverine, and later became a covert operative for SHIELD.  

At some point later, Electra was abducted by Skrull agents and replaced with a Super Skrull imposter.  This imposter took over the Hand clan in Japan but was later killed in combat against The Avengers.  The true Electra resurfaced following The Skrull’s failed Secret Invasion.  She would go on to have further adventures, becoming a member of The Heroes for Hire as well as a new iteration of The Thunderbolts squad.  More recently, Electra has fashioned a costume reminiscent of that worn by Daredevil, which she has used to protect the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood.

A version of Electra appeared in the Fox Films movies, Daredevil and Electra where the character was portrayed by actress Jennifer Garner; another version appeared in the Netflix series Daredevil and The Defenders, portrayed by actress Elodie Yung.  The deadly heroine first appeared in the pages of Daredevil Vol. 1 #168 (1981).  

[failbaby]

Okay but. I wanted to see the impacts of class on the actions of the BAU in terms of law enforcement.

They touched on the way a few other life experiences (like gender and mental illness) affect the way the team views the profession and the unsubs, and I wish we really got to see that kind of conversation about the way poverty breeds violence in so many cases.

Particularly, the fact that the poor and destitute are victimized in the vast majority of cases, because their unsubs figure that these people are disposable and will not be missed.

Spencer grew up impoverished (post-William), and Derek and JJ were very lower-middle class, and they were under the command of Hotch and Emily (in Spencer & JJ’s case), who both grew up in wealth.

How does that feel?

How would it feel to stare the effects of poverty in the face, knowing that this decaying, mutilated sex worker photographed on the side of I-80 could so easily have been you, and being guided through it all by the children of millionaires, who, despite being empathetic people, will always be a world away from this dead woman?

How would it feel to grow up on government assistance, hustling poker to put food on your mentally ill mother’s table (caring for her as if she were your child), pushing yourself to excel academically among students six years your senior, because you know that your intellect is the only thing that can get you to college and help you take care of your mother, who is getting worse every day

and then after all of that, sit across a table from your close friend and colleague, born into wealth and given a $1000 monthly allowance well past the age you started paying for your mother’s institutionalization, who says with a smile that being a “bored socialite” was the fate she had feared while you were playing slot machines to buy milk?

How would it feel to spend years pouring your body and mind into a sport you don’t like because you know it’s the only way you’ll be able to make it out of your rural backwater town, perpetually running on four hours of sleep because you have to go to practices and you can’t let your grades slip, clawing your way up from pell grant student to trainee to media liaison

only to watch another woman (who has never worked for the Bureau) march into your boss’ office demanding a job better than the one you currently have, then watch her get that job the very next day, in part because your boss knows her parents from Yale?

How would it feel to lose your father at 12 and grow up with two siblings on a single mother’s income, silently dealing with your own horrific trauma as you push through school and work for the sports scholarship you so badly need and try to help provide for your family, working tirelessly to pull yourself up out of the gutter by your bootstraps just like a good poor person should

only to spend your entire career playing second-fiddle to a white man who was born at the top? Working under him for more than a decade, knowing that you’re just as qualified as he is if not moreso?

They deal with people—victims and perpetrators alike—who have grown up in the most appalling conditions imaginable, and in all of these matters, it’s those who don’t understand who make the final calls.

Do they ever feel tiny twinges of sympathy for killers or their enablers when they hear about how they used to duck tape their shoes together and sleep three days on an empty stomach? Do they understand the anger these people? Does that scare them?

How does it feel to be told by a trust fund baby that the poor—drifters, sex workers, addicts—go missing so often that their deaths are just fundamentally not the same as a rich white woman being killed in her home? Do they think about how, with one car accident or broken arm, they themselves could have been on the streets, and wonder whether their deaths would be alarming enough to warrant investigation?

At what point do they realize that they are looking at these cases from behind a line they had to fight tooth and nail to cross, and that their superiors can never understand, because they were born on this side of the line?

I’m not saying this to diminish the childhood trauma that Hotch and Emily did have—abuse, abortion at 15, and toxic parents are obviously terrible and profoundly impactful in different ways—but poverty is such a unique kind of experience that I think it begs unique conversation.

There are some things you’ll just never understand if you’ve never been hungry.

[xconflictx]

{ cis-woman, she/her } ❝ but I've become what I can't be ❞ huh, who’s JERI RYAN? no, you’re mistaken, that’s actually ANGELA BONES-AVERY. she is a 45 year old HALFBLOOD witch who is AUROR. she is a GRYFFINDOR alum and the child of AMELIA BONES + THOMAS AVERY. she is known for being SARCASTIC, MANIPULATIVE, UNPREDICTABLE, PERFECTIONIST, and OBSESSIVE but also CONFIDENT, PERSISTENT, COURAGEOUS, AMBITIOUS, and RESPECTFUL, so that must be why she always reminds me of the song STOP AND STARE BY ONEREPUBLIC and COMBAT BOOTS TRUDGING THOUGH THE MUD, THE SOUND OF A HEAVY DOWN POUR, COFFEE LEFT TO GO COLD, A CONFLICT RAGING WITHIN, BRUISED KNUCKLES. i hear she is aligned with the DEATH EATERS (SHE'S UNSURE OF HER TRUE ALLIANCE), so be sure to keep an eye on her. 

Basic Information

Full Name: Angela Lilith Bones-Avery

Nickname(s): Ang, Ange, Angel (husband only)

Age: 45

Date of Birth: September 20th 1984

Pronouns: She/her

Orientation: Biromantic and bisexual

Occupation: Auror

Marital Status: Married

Magical

Hogwarts House: Gryffindor

Wand: Beech Wood, Dragon Heartstring. 12 and a half inches.

Favourite Subject: Charms

Least Favourite Subject: Transfigurations

Patronus: Orangutan

Boggart: Being alone. Not in the sense of left alone in a room but more in the sense of losing everything and everyone she holds dear.

Personality

Positive Traits: Confident, Persistent, Courageous, Ambitious, Respectful

Negative Traits: Sarcastic, Manipulative, Unpredictable, Perfectionist, Obsessive

Quick fire facts! 

Has mummy issuesTM

Joined the death eaters more or less to spite her mother and is lowkey regretting it

Her ideals don’t align with the death eaters but those who she clings to for comfort do (her father, grandmother, husband) so she has blindly followed them. Now the death eaters are becoming more active again she is hesitant to be involved.

Has mega abandonment issues to go with those mummy issuesTM

Chose her profession to be closer to her mother and was surprised she enjoys it as much as she does. Undercover work is her speciality.

Knows how to get what she wants

Half finished bio! (wasn’t planning on writing one right away but here we are XD)

Thomas Avery was a charming man who worked along side the minister and Amelia Bones had recently been promoted to head of the department of magical law enforcement. They hit it off and instantly became the subject of water cooler gossip. Their relationship proved to be nothing more than a whirlwind (and rumours flew left and right about if there was any feelings between the pair or it was simply an attempt to gain more influence from one of them or both. Although both Thomas and Amelia would deny to comment) however even whirlwinds can occasionally leave lasting effects. Angela Lilith Bones-Avery was born 6 months after their relationship ended.

A halfblood born out of wedlock would have been a point of shame on the Avery family if Thomas hadn’t been instantly smitten with his daughter the moment she was placed in his arms. Most pureblood families would have turned their nose up at Angela, Thomas managed to convince his that her birth wasn’t a shameful thing but an opportunity. The Bones’ were an influential family in the Ministry and now they had one of their own. 

Angela grew up in two homes with clashing beliefs. Her mother, the strong, wise and just Amelia Bones had a very different look on things than Thomas did. Amelia taught her that being just and fair was important while Thomas taught her she should take what she wanted and never apologize. This clash would often confuse her and left her desperate to find a middle ground between her parents. 

As she grew older she spent more time with her father than her mother growing up, Amelia worked long hours and was often called into the office when things were rough or a court hearing went too long or she needed to read up on a sensitive case she was presiding over. This left little time to be looking after a child. Angela was often angry when her stays with her mother were cancelled due to “something coming up” 

By age 10 Agatha Avery became a stable figure in Angela’s life. Her grandmother had warmed up to Angela as she grew older and began to see the opportunity that her son had. 

Angela attended Hogwarts age 11 and was sorted into Gryffindor house. Coming from a long line of Slytherins and Hufflepuffs, Angela felt like a disappointment. She received congratulations from both sides of her family but it wasn’t hard to tell that only her mother’s had been genuine. 

The older she got the more desperate she became for the praise of her family and the attention of her parents. It seemed to her that only her father had time for her, her mother, often caught at work and after the appointment of Kingsley Shacklebolt she only seemed to be their even more.

This fuelled a quiet hatred for the newly appointed Minister that her father and grandmother happily stoked into a flame until she could barely look at him without a look of disgust on her face.

Angela married her husband at 21. A man from a sacred 28 family, her mother despised him (which only added to her want to marry him to annoy her) but she loved him with all her heart. 

(more bio coming soon!)

[flyinglotus777]

Netflix’s Squid Game

SPOILER ALERT! If you are interested in watching the series, I HIGHLY suggest you do so. This article will be an overall synopsis and my review of the show. For an in-depth analysis of the symbolism of the show and ending, scroll down to the fourth to last paragraph.

The Netflix show, “Squid Game,” written and directed by Hwang Dong-hyuk is a phenomenal Korean drama centered around our victor, Seong Gi-hun, played by Lee Jung-jae. Contestants were recruited to play in a life or death competition due to their lack of luck, financial knowledge, and influx of impending debt they have accumulated throughout their lives. We first meet Gi-hun as he is down on his luck. Living with his elderly, overworked mother (which in countries outside of the United States is not strange nor uncommon) Gi-hun was a friend to gambling, but that toxic love caused him to be in debt to a gang of (what seemed to be) loan sharks. When luck finally strikes him on the race track, life simultaneously decides to take an excrement on his reality. His debt seekers catch him on his hot streak and involuntarily sign him up to be a participant in the Squid Game.

Similar to many other of the 456 participants, they all shared a common denominator of being in situations it seemed only money could fix. Upon arrival the contestants were asked to voluntarily sign wavers in order to participate in the game, while unknowingly risking their lives, for the opportunity to win 456 billion won (which would be roughly over $3.5 million in US currency). The challenges were mostly based on nostalgic childhood games, both based in the United States and South Korea.

Now I knew due to the explanation in the introduction of episode one that if any player were to lose, they would die. So during the first challenge of red light green light, when players were bulletly penalized for losing I was not surprised. After the game, the players decided to rally together and quit playing. The influence of the cash prize split the decision down the middle, leaving the old man, player 1, to be the final decision. To my surprise he actually chose to decline, freeing all of the players. During the voting, many players screamed at each other as to why they would choose to stay in the hell hole as other players responded that the outside world was not any better if not the same as the harsh environment they were already in. This reality struck many contestants as they returned back to their reality of debt, dependents, and for some bounty hunts, thus resulting in them returning to the game.

During the whole season, I was trying to find the purpose of these games. We knew why the participants felt motivated to play, but I wondered what was the purpose of having them fight for their lives in the first place. When the PlayStation faced soldiers forced the doctor (player 111) to dissect the bodies for organs to sell at the black market, at first I thought that it was what the original game maker wanted which I thought was genius. Soon to learn that it was actually a violation to a code of equality that was placed inside the arena applying to all of those who existed, soldiers and participants alike. Which struck me as odd due to the soldiers being able to tote guns and wear masks based on their own hierarchy and the participants being collectively isolated and given numbers as if it was a remake of the Stanford Prison experiment. Nonetheless many soldiers faced the same fate as the players, and my pondering would meet the solution come the finale.

Let’s discuss players. I only favored Gi-hun because he was the protagonist, but throughout the story he grew on me as his big heart prevailed through the madness. I knew Choo Sang-woo, the embezzling business man and hometown friend of Gi-hun played by Park Hae-soo, was a psychopath when I saw him in a fully filled bathtub with his suit on. Running from the police, in debt or not, that’s just as much of a red flag for serial killer tendencies as sleeping with socks on or having too thin and highly arched eyebrows. The episode that he crossed Ali, the father of one from Pakistan with the missing fingers, made me hate Sang-woo for the rest of the series. I was infuriated and frustrated with Ali for being that naïve to believe that they could escape the round as a duo, but understood his perspective since up until that point Sang-woo was a dependable, trusted ally to Ali. However after that episode I didn’t care who won, I was just ready for Sang-woo to die.

Kang Sae-byeok, the skeptical and beautiful warrior from North Korea played by Jung Ho-yeon, deserves her own paragraph. Along with her beauty, her presence and demeanor was so bad ass. She was thrifty and intelligent, as her talent being pick pocketing. I was waiting for her to just be so bad ass. As the punk disguised to be gangster, Jang Deok-su, pushed her around which seemed to be normal behavior between the two, I was ready for Sae-byeok to twist his arm, send a plunging round house kick to his nuts, and cut his snake tattoo right off of his face. Although her exterior was tough, her heart was made of malleable gold which we got to see as she opened up to her female companion during the marble challenge and sobbed from her loss afterwards. Although she was not the killer bad ass queen I had wanted her to be, I still call her a warrior because of her resiliency throughout life’s and the game’s many obstacles and her drive to provide her younger brother with a better life.

Thankfully Deok-su got what he deserved as Han Mi-nyeo poetically decided to take both of their lives during the glass challenge. “You said we would be together till the end,” she said before diving into her inevitable death with her short lived lover. Mi-nyeo was incredibly annoying as I would often pinch the inside corners of my eyes and scratch my eyebrows when she would appear. However that crazy bitch served justice, and I love her for that.

I was highly disappointed by the demise of the detective Hwang Jun-ho, played by the handsome Wi Ha-joon. I was rooting for detective Jun-ho, as I’m sure we all were, on his pursuit to find his brother. I was not surprised that his brother was Front Man, as I had suspected that his brother must’ve died or been apart of the game making due to his absence in real life and the current game. After discovering his brother was the victor of his year, to me it only made sense that he would be apart of the game enforcement. As we saw from Gi-hun, a normal life is impossible to live after experiencing something so traumatic as a series of death ridden children games. However I was saddened and surprised that detective Jun-ho was unsuccessful in closing down the whole operation. I mean the man was close to performing forced, aristocratic fellatio in the name of serving and protecting the law. I truly thought because he had gotten so far and was so close to exposing the operation that the only choice he had was to be successful. At last he was shot and killed by his own blood, the one he had been looking for; providing us with a cinematic and heart jerking ending to detective Jun-ho.

Lastly lets discuss the old man, player 001 named O Yeong-su, whom I also nicknamed Poppy during the series. Deceivingly innocent and weak, I genuinely liked Yeong-su throughout the game play. I thoroughly enjoyed his relationship with Gi-hun and saw him as a valuable player in most instances. I believe he was one of the main reasons that Gi-hun continued to lead with his heart. Gi-hun claimed that Yeong-su was the reason he returned to the games and later found out that Yeong-su was the reason there were games in the first place. The climatic episode of the marble challenge was when their relationship had been defined as “gganbu” (which is a term for trusted, close friends in Korean, as explained in the series), thus Yeong-su establishing a special place in Gi-hun’s heart. During the challenge, Yeong-su begins to have an episode of what we all assumed to be dementia as the arena they are playing in is designed like his old neighborhood and he abandons the game to take a trip down memory lane. Gi-hun screams in frustration at the old man to play with him only to end up losing in their even and odd game and resulting in deceit, tricking the old man to let him be the victor. Now if I was Gi-hun, I would’ve convinced Yeong-su to let me hold his marbles for safe keeping and let him have a fun time reminiscing on his life while he ran down the clock. Then when it was time, I would’ve turned in all 20 marbles just as Sang-woo did and went about my business. It would’ve only been right for the old man to forfeit as he was already on his death bed, or so we innocently thought. Before I get into the ending, I want to talk about the last match between Sang-woo and Gi-hun.

Finally, the last game to see who would be victorious in a highly anticipated game of Squid between Gi-hun and Sang-woo. It seemed as if it were a battle between good vs evil; Gi-hun representing a more benevolent side as he would often optimistically look to help other competitors and extend the kindness he had been shown versus Sang-woo who represented a more vindictive and ruthless side, determined to hurt anyone in order to receive his highly coveted and long awaited prize in an arena that erased any foundation of morals or ethics as soon as the light turned red. Luck was on Gi-hun’s side as he had the opportunity to play offense. With a cunning mind and a vengeance for Sae-byeok’s death, Gi-hun delivered a can of whoop ass to his opponent. As the saying goes, the good shall always prevail. Perhaps his heart was too pure as Gi-hun halted from crossing the finish line and offered Sang-woo a chance to live, thus forfeiting the prize money. Needless to say, I applauded when Sang-woo committed suicide as it was the only right thing to do in his position.

A year passed by and Gi-hun seemed worse than before. Physically his style was bummy wealthy, a look pioneered by Bill Gates, but mentally he was in shambles. How could you blame him? Gi-hun discovered that the responsible party for these horrendous events was none other than his ggangbu, old man Yeong-su. The biggest, jaw dropping plot twist of the entire series. As they were joined on Christmas Eve and Yeong-su on his death bed, they placed one final bet on an assumed to be drunken, homeless man who sat on the streets as it snowed and waited for help to arrive. Yeong-su explained how he actually wanted to help people and give his money to people who needed it, but wanted to do it in an “entertaining way.” As Gi-hun flared with outrage towards the old man for finding amusement in killing people, the old man rebutted using horse races as an example of people’s amusement. Yeong-su also said he participated in the games because it was more fun to play than to be a spectator, which I had noticed him treating the competition as if it were adult summer camp. I had just assumed since he was old, he didn’t care if he had died or not.

I think most people will think that this show was a metaphor about how money and rich people are evil. However I think it can be seen as commentary on society as a whole, not just the wealthy. Yeong-su says on his death bed that it’s a test of humanity, and asks Gi-hun if he still has faith in humanity after what he has experienced. Although money was the luring motivator to win the game, people still chose to return to the competition to escape their problems. Sure, money was apart of their problems as all of the players (excluding Yeong-su) were in debt, but that was due to choices that they had made. Whether it had been through embezzling, gambling, lack of luck, or financial ignorance, it was the people who had gotten themselves into those situations. Money doesn’t have a personal vendetta against anyone nor does it have an inherent quality of good or evil. Money is a neutral energy used to be exchanged for goods and services. It’s people who designate that energy to their humane or inhumane desires.

Leading to the next point of the wealthy and how they are seen to be evil due to having wealth. Although I do believe that there are some wealthy people who act as villains, money didn’t create the villain inside of them. Those people were going to behave maliciously whether they have money or not. The VIPs, who were spectating the finale of challenges, were tied to a bank devoted to the wealthy and gambled on the competitors who played (and most likely helped subsidize the events). We place judgement on them, but as Yeong-su said, people gamble on horse races. Although people are not animals and by my knowledge I don’t believe most or any horses die during these races, it is still the principle of watching an entity being tortured for amusement, which is not only confined to the wealthy population. When the concept of killing and tormenting living breathing beings for amusement is normalized within society, the lines begin to blur on who is okay to perform and who is not. Take the audience of this show for example, we all watched a show where hundreds of people were mercilessly killed for the desire of winning a cash prize for our own amusement, thus making “Squid Game” the number one show on Netflix at the moment. Although the show is fictional and brilliantly written, this Hunger Games concept is not new. We come in contact again and again with the idea of people who are disadvantaged given an opportunity to better their lives through inhumane means, including risking their own lives or actively sacrificing the life of another, and being spectators on the edge of our seats who can’t seem to look away. It is no different than a Roman gladiator match in a grand colosseum, which in modern day would be a MMA fight at the MGM hotel. We blame it on the rich who are ridiculed for creating these events, but at the end of the day it is the people, rich,poor, and everyone in between, who continue to still go along with it and to some extent desire it. Which makes me question, what does that say about humanity, and do I actually have faith in us? Although Gi-hun went through hell and back, he still remained pure of heart and used his wealth to enhance his life and those around him; proving that wealthy people can still be benevolent and desire righteous good. Similar to Gi-hun, the optimist in me wants to believe that there are still people in this world with good hearts, but I guess we just have to wait until the time comes to see.

Ultimately the show was phenomenal, and definitely sparked a desire inside of me to watch more Korean dramas. I don’t think the show will have a second season. Simply because I think the story line would be better cut off there, thus leaving the audience always wanting more. However if season 2 ever comes out, I’m ready for Gi-hun to take a Liam Neeson approach to ending the Squid Game and hopefully with a beard. Thank you for reading my article. I know it was incredibly lengthy. I have just finished the season after a 2 day binge watch, and have a lot of emotions and thoughts ruminating in my brain. Let me know what you think of the show and what you think of the article. Did anyone else notice the paintings of the games on the walls of the dormitory?

God bless.

[pet-genius]

The Death Eaters as a Cult - Part 2

Follow-up post to this post, exploring the DE dynamics and speculating on how Voldemort got them on his hook. Trigger warning: Cult abuse, I suppose.

The Death Eaters’ behavior at the graveyard reflects what was expected of them during the first war. LV refers to his Death Eaters as his “true family”, and yet:

Then one of the Death Eaters fell to his knees, crawled toward Voldemort, and kissed the hem of his black robes.

“Master... Master...” he murmured.

The Death Eaters behind him did the same; each of them approaching Voldemort on his knees and kissing his robes, before backing away and standing up, forming a silent circle, which enclosed Tom Riddle’s grave, Harry, Voldemort, and the sobbing and twitching heap that was Wormtail. Yet they left gaps in the circle, as though waiting for more people.

If this is how anyone in your family has EVER treated you, go to the police. No: Death Eaters were expected to crawl on their knees and to kiss their master’s robe. He had enforced such discipline that they all remembered their place in the circle 13 years later. He expected to be worshiped and humiliated his own people.

He also tortures them, for their failure to try to find him and resurrect him:

“It is a disappointment to me... I confess myself disappointed....”

One of the men suddenly flung himself forward, breaking the circle. Trembling from head to foot, he collapsed at Voldemort’s feet. “Master!” he shrieked, “Master, forgive me! Forgive us all!” Voldemort began to laugh. He raised his wand. “Crucio!”

He also manipulates them:

“Get up, Avery,” said Voldemort softly. “Stand up. You ask for forgiveness? I do not forgive. I do not forget. Thirteen long years... I want thirteen years’ repayment before I forgive you.

Wormtail here has paid some of his debt already, have you not, Wormtail?”

He looked down at Wormtail, who continued to sob.

“You returned to me, not out of loyalty, but out of fear of your old friends. You deserve this pain, Wormtail. You know that, don’t you?”

Why does LV feel that Peter owes him anything? Peter resurrected him. But pleasing LV is impossible. He needs his followers to be driven by loyalty, not fear - they are not even allowed to be self-interested in the sense of wanting not to die. Peter might deserve pain, but one must ask why Voldemort of all people feels this way - Peter never hurt him.

Then, he expects Peter to show gratitude for what he would have had in the first place, had Voldemort not taken it from him: a hand. Peter falls for it:

“Yes, Master,” moaned Wormtail, “please, Master... please...”

“Yet you helped return me to my body,” said Voldemort coolly, watching Wormtail sob on the ground. “Worthless and traitorous as you are, you helped me... and Lord Voldemort rewards his helpers....”

[...]

“My Lord,” he whispered. “Master... it is beautiful... thank you... thank you.”

That’s how Voldemort rewards his helpers: He stops the pain he himself inflicted.

These are Death Eaters with obvious vulnerabilities for Voldemort to exploit:

Barty Crouch Jr. has a very dysfunctional relationship with his dad. Sirius: “Crouch’s fatherly affection stretched just far enough to give his son a trial, and by all accounts, it wasn’t much more than an excuse for Crouch to show how much he hated the boy... then he sent him straight to Azkaban”.

Voldemort clearly took advantage of this, played up the parallel between Tom Riddle Sr. and Barty Crouch Sr., and BCJ has clearly come to see him as something of a father figure:

“I will be honored beyond all other Death Eaters. I will be his dearest, his closest supporter... closer than a son....”

[...]

“The Dark Lord and I,” said Moody, and he looked completely insane now, towering over Harry, leering down at him, “have much in common. Both of us, for instance, had very disappointing fathers... very disappointing indeed. Both of us suffered the indignity, Harry, of being named after those fathers. And both of us had the pleasure... the very great pleasure... of killing our fathers to ensure the continued rise of the Dark Order!”

Bellatrix’s vulnerability is obvious: She’s in love with Voldemort. He is constantly toying with her, promising intimacy and reward, but never delivering. He only uses her: Her vault, her duelling skills, her home. It’s interesting that she’s the only female DE outside of Alecto. Perhaps she was insecure about being female, or felt oppressed by her marriage, or perhaps she was failing to live up to her family’s expectation that she make pureblood babies, and Voldemort promised her a future where she’d be free of these constraints.

She’s supposed to be the closest one to him, the one he cares about the most, yet she too fears his wrath. Following the prophecy’s destruction:

“Master, I am sorry, I knew not, I was fighting the Animagus Black!” sobbed Bellatrix, flinging herself down at Voldemort’s feet as he paced slowly nearer.

“Master, you should know —”

“Be quiet, Bella,” said Voldemort dangerously. “I shall deal with you in a moment. Do you think I have entered the Ministry of Magic to hear your sniveling apologies?”

“But Master — he is here — he is below —”

Voldemort paid no attention.

He really should have paid attention to her warning that Dumbledore was coming. Instead, he threatened her even as she was begging forgiveness for something that was not her fault.

The chapter Spinner’s End shows how giftedVoldemort is at spreading enmity and discord among his followers. Not only do they not all know each other, the ones who do can never conspire against their master, because of the atmosphere of distrust.

“Before I answer you — oh yes, Bellatrix, I am going to answer! You can carry my words back to the others who whisper behind my back, and carry false tales of my treachery to the Dark Lord! Before I answer you, I say, let me ask a question in turn. Do you really think that the Dark Lord has not asked me each and every one of those questions? And do you really think that, had I not been able to give satisfactory answers, I would be sitting here talking to you?”

She hesitated.

“I know he believes you, but...”

“You think he is mistaken? Or that I have somehow hoodwinked him? Fooled the Dark Lord, the greatest wizard, the most accomplished Legilimens the world has ever seen?”

He is accusing Bella of heresy. He has clearly learned a thing or two about manipulation, having spent his entire adult life either under Voldemort or under Dumbledore. He presents himself as selfish for staying with Dumbledore, and he presents Voldemort’s words as gospel: “The Dark Lord does not complain that I stayed, so I do not see why you do.” He also takes pride in being closer to him and more useful:

“But what use have you been?” sneered Bellatrix. “What useful information have we had from you?”

“My information has been conveyed directly to the Dark Lord,” said Snape. “If he chooses not to share it with you —”

“He shares everything with me!” said Bellatrix, firing up at once.

“He calls me his most loyal, his most faithful —”

“Does he?” said Snape, his voice delicately inflected to suggest his disbelief.“Does he still, after the fiasco at the Ministry?”

The master stroke is the subtle insinuation that lowly half-blood Snape is closer to Voldemort than Bellatrix is. This makes her lose what little composure she had, and plays on her insecurity. Her interrogation ends shortly thereafter, and she seems satisfied with explanations that are frankly not very convincing.

“If he has forbidden it, you ought not to speak,” said Snape at once. “The Dark Lord’s word is law.”

Narcissa gasped as though he had doused her with cold water. Bellatrix looked satisfied for the first time since she had entered the house.

“There!” she said triumphantly to her sister. “Even Snape says so: You were told not to talk, so hold your silence!”

Bella is enforcing silence on her sister. This phenomenon exists in real cults too: Members enforce the rules on each other, the leader’s hands are clean.

Bella tells Cissy off for caring whether Draco lives or dies:

“Draco should be proud,” said Bellatrix indifferently. “The Dark Lord is granting him a great honor. And I will say this for Draco: He isn’t shrinking away from his duty, he seems glad of a chance to prove himself, excited at the prospect —”

I think this was LV’s pitch to Bella: She is the one who wanted to prove herself.

Bella is willing to give him so much, and he gives her nothing. Also, twice she claims that it’s a point of pride to be willing to die for the Dark Lord.

In DLA, he is particularly subtly abusive toward her:

“My Lord,” said a dark woman halfway down the table, her voice constricted with emotion, “it is an honor to have you here, in our family’s house. There can be no higher pleasure.”

[...]

Bellatrix leaned toward Voldemort, for mere words could not demonstrate her longing for closeness.

Why is Bellatrix halfway down the table? She has been unfailingly loyal, why is he punishing her with distance? Is he punishing her for being related to Narcissa?

“No higher pleasure,” repeated Voldemort, his head tilted a little to one side as he considered Bellatrix. “That means a great deal, Bellatrix, from you.”

Her face flooded with color; her eyes welled with tears of delight.

“My Lord knows I speak nothing but the truth!”

Look how nice he’s being! Look how happy he makes her! Except this is immediately followed by teasing her about her niece’s marriage:

“No higher pleasure... even compared with the happy event that, I hear, has taken place in your family this week?”

She stared at him, her lips parted, evidently confused.

“I don’t know what you mean, my Lord.”

“I’m talking about your niece, Bellatrix. And yours, Lucius and Narcissa. She has just married the werewolf, Remus Lupin. You must be so proud.”

There was an eruption of jeering laughter from around the table. Many leaned forward to exchange gleeful looks; a few thumped the table with their fists. The great snake, disliking the disturbance, opened its mouth wide and hissed angrily, but the Death Eaters did not hear it, so jubilant were they at Bellatrix and the Malfoys’ humiliation. Bellatrix’s face, so recently flushed with happiness, had turned an ugly, blotchy red.

He is punishing with humiliation. Lucius screwed up the mission at the DOM and Draco didn’t kill Dumbledore, but what did Bella do? Nobody is safe. Instead of resenting the way she is treated, Bellatrix demonstrates her fanaticism:

“She is no niece of ours, my Lord,” she cried over the outpouring of mirth. “We — Narcissa and I — have never set eyes on our sister since she married the Mudblood. This brat has nothing to do with either of us, nor any beast she marries.”

[...]

“Many of our oldest family trees become a little diseased over time,” he said as Bellatrix gazed at him, breathless and imploring.

“You must prune yours, must you not, to keep it healthy? Cut away those parts that threaten the health of the rest.”

“Yes, my Lord,” whispered Bellatrix, and her eyes swam with tears of gratitude again. “At the first chance!”

“You shall have it,” said Voldemort. “And in your family, so in the world... we shall cut away the canker that infects us until only those of the true blood remain....”

Bella does not needanyone (a half-blood!) to teach her she must keep her family tree pure. She clearly doesn’t know crucial things about Tom Riddle, or is in denial. This is the same Bellatrix who killed her own cousin, so she is very capable of “pruning” her own family tree.

At the Malfoy Manor:

“Gold!” laughed Bellatrix, still attempting to throw off her brother-in-law, her free hand groping in her pocket for her wand. “Take your gold, filthy scavenger, what do I want with gold? I seek only the honor of his — of —”

She stopped struggling, her dark eyes fixed upon something Harry could not see. Jubilant at her capitulation, Lucius threw her hand from him and ripped up his own sleeve —

“STOP!” shrieked Bellatrix. “Do not touch it, we shall all perish if the Dark Lord comes now!”

She seeks only the honor of his [something], but she is scared to death of him. She will kill for him and die for him, but she is keenly aware of the possibility that he might kill her - yet she loves him. She is a true believer - without him, she is nothing, and her devotion controls her every interaction. In her defense, he does not let others kill her, at least - he saves her at the end of the battle at the Department of Mysteries and seems upset when she dies.

Bellatrix thinks independently once: She doesn’t trust Snape, even though her master does. This is not so odd - the half-blood appears to be undermining her, to have aspirations to griw even closer to Voldemort than her - her jealousy and insecurity override how brainwashed she is. The dynamic between the Black sisters exemplifies the way cults drive wedges between family members - not that the Black family needed any help with that.

Peter’s vulnerability is obvious: His own friends think he’s worthless. He clearly isn’t - he became an animagus too, and he tricked Sirius, kill 12 Muggles with a single curse, and perform the tasks to revive Voldemort - but Voldemort exploited Peter’s insecurity, and even whatever guilt Peter had felt at betraying his friends. Sirius says Peter always sought the protection of the biggest bully. His “uselessness” was the express reason Sirius switched with Peter - obviously, someone like that could never be pegged for a potential spy. Voldemort must have made Peter feel valuable, like there was something only Peter could do - and when Peter’s choices ran out, he showed Peter his true colors.

We’ve seen how LV treated Peter at the resurrection ceremony. We also have the way he bossed him around in the first chapter of GOF, and that he forced Peter to work as Snape’s “assistant”, as seen in Spinner’s End. Sending Peter to work for Snivellus was brilliantly cruel - Peter must have viewed this as the height of humiliation.

In Dark Lord Ascending, he is shrinking himself to near non-existence:

“Yes, m-my Lord,” gasped a small man halfway down the table, who had been sitting so low in his chair that it had appeared, at first glance, to be unoccupied. Now he scrambled from his seat and scurried from the room, leaving nothing behind him but a curious gleam of silver.

In part 3 - Draco, Regulus, Snape, Lucius, general dynamics, and more speculations!

[smolstarthief]

Persona 5/Persona 5 Strikers: Pro-Police or Anti-Police?

Hoo boy... So this honestly has been a LONG time coming on my end because I have seen so much of that debate on social media (Twitter namely) and I can see the points of BOTH sides but there have been moments where it just got out of hand... Especially whenever people tried to put in a more grey/nuanced take only to be slammed and taken out of context. Even repeatedly mentioning the interrogation at the beginning of P5 which, I will admit has gotten tiresome. At least for me, I do still feel for Joker and I wished the game acknowledged his trauma more but there's a thing called, "beating a dead horse" and this is one along with "Haru says ACAB" in Strikers (which was done THREE TIMES in the same arc and it got annoying fast, like shut up already! We get it!). So, let's dive in a little bit:

MAJOR SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT!!!

Persona 5/Persona 5 Royal

Now let me just say I know! Police in Japan are just as bad if not worse than the West and I STILL hate the idea of Makoto wanting to become a cop for such naive reasons (especially with what happened to Sae, her own sister!)... But there are at least some of form of nuances sometimes and by that I mean, I can see what they were trying to do? I do agree that P5/P5S backpedaled SEVERELY by deciding to sweep issues under the rug after addressing them and not continuing from such. In fact I feel like it could have been a hell of a lot better. But P5 did something different compared to previous games and addresses the issues DIRECTLY right at the beginning of said game! It was tense and horrifying, but needed. Of course... They then sweep it under the rug and act like nothing traumatic happened to our protag which is NOT a good look at all and I'm still pissed off about it. In the main game's case, it's portrayed as more black and white with only a SMALL amount of nuance like that cop that was trying to help Futaba when she went out by herself and got lost (which people ignore entirely by the way). So I CAN see where people got the "anti-police" message from... But that's only the tip of the iceberg as it's ACTUALLY more about Systematic Corruption, not exactly or JUST police corruption. Namely in politics with Shido and the Conspiracy (which is apparently still somewhat around in Strikers until Owada's downfall) controlling everything all the way to law enforcement. The force had been basically under his payroll (including the corrupt SIU Director before his death) whether by force or not (mostly not in this case though). Now honestly, the police depicted there are undoubtedly rotten to the core save for a VERY SMALL handful (the cop that was trying to help Futaba which, again, gets ignored by several). Look at the interrogators who ruthlessly beat and drug a minor without any second thought or remorse for example. But again, the black and white narrative the game kept unwittingly doing ended up being to its detriment in a way. I'm not defending those assholes AT ALL! They deserved every punishment given to them! But for a game that goes on about grey morality... It doesn't quite deliver on that. Still though, it does emphasize that it's more of the fault of the whole corrupt system, not just one part of it. There needs to be change and reform which is what our MCs were trying to do in a way (more like inspiring change but still). In the end, it's all about the following:

Corruption and abuse of power.

Again the police depicted in this game were incompetent at best, corrupt at worse with very few silver linings. But it's not just them but rather the one person responsible for the whole mess. Who had them under his payroll? Who controlled them and by extension all of Tokyo? Who was willing to dispose of anyone who "outlives their usefulness" or is perceived as a threat to what he wants (including his own family)?

SHIDO AND BY EXTENSION THE CONSPIRACY

Bottom line: They are definitely a problem but it's not just them.

"But, Joker and his trauma?"

I definitely understand that and still do. I fully believe he has and still has trauma with the police. Easy! But... I do feel like people go too far with it sometimes. It's hard to explain but there have been moments where people either use it as a justification/argument against someone trying to provide a more nuanced view of things or... Dare I say, depict him like a "uwu soft traumatized boi." Like I said, it's hard to explain on my end so feel free to ignore it. Everyone deals with trauma differently so there is STRONG chance that I'm overanalyzing it. I just remember moments where I just feel a little, I guess annoyed? I'm not sure exactly but final thing: I understand what he went through and I can't imagine how long it would take to recover but I hope he DOES overcome it.

"Sae? Akechi?"

Yep, even though their jobs are different, they are by and large members of law enforcement no matter how you spin it. Both were broken in a way. Akechi is pretty easy to explain with how Shido negatively impacted his life but not much about Sae, who dealt with sexism/misogyny at her workplace along with the trauma of her father's (also a cop) death. She no doubt had some idealism only to be hit with the fact that she's gonna have to use underhanded/downright illegal tactics to get by and even rise up the ranks. She, therefore ended up (well, nearly) corrupted herself before coming to her senses. That's honestly one of the BIGGEST REASONS why I felt like Makoto joining the force to become a police commissioner isn't a good, even a downright naïve, idea. I honestly would have been somewhat fine with it if it weren't for that fact among other things. Regardless of her willpower, it will go south fast.

Now... Onto Strikers!

Persona 5 Strikers

Since the game came out and I started playing it, I still feel like the system is still beyond saving, especially when attempting to do it from the inside. But I don't mind the added nuances that P5 didn't do much of. It's still continuing the critiques, just shows more of what does happen within said system and even has an ACTUAL officer (Zenkichi) say, "Yeah, my job sucks, everyone's corrupt, there are much better ways to do things and make a change but not this. I'm only staying because I have a daughter to take care of and it's all I know. I'm no different from them." Was it all handled well? I wouldn't say "yes" (Joker's trauma is BARELY addressed at all of course) but a little better than what P5's narrative did which only addressed the issues but not exactly follow up on them. Now to be fair... In the system, regardless of where you live, any one within it who remotely tries to do something or speak against it either lose their jobs or even go "missing" irl. Those have happened and it's more proof that yeah, it's rotten to the core. There's no denying it but regardless, that's NOT what the game is about at all. At least that's what I feel about it as it's only PART of the narrative. I think Zenkichi puts it best here:

Speaking of Zenkichi... Oh boy... Now I definitely understand some of the criticisms with him but honestly, he was the best written (PT) character I've ever encountered! He was honestly the perfect representation of those that genuinely want to help and do good, only to be held back by an extremely harsh reality. It was already hinted at with Sae but here? It 100 percent confirms just how harsh and even cutthroat it can be if it could break someone's idealism so badly. Even Kaburagi of all people thinks the same thing Zenkichi said:

Then there's his past and it's a tragic one! But let's look more at the decisions he ended up making:

While it was no doubt done to protect his daughter, he ended making a selfish decision along with a selfless one (which was brilliant!) with not only allowing the cover up of his wife's death and denying justice for her, but also ruining an innocent person and their family's lives.

It's horrible, but also... There's a grey area/nuance as with the rest of his character. It was both understandable, but also wrong as he, as Akane's Shadow puts it:

He sacrificed his values, his morals, all for the sake of having a peace of mind. Speaking of Akane, she's also an interesting case in a way that she more or less perfectly represents the more "black and white" views on justice in general. Namely the more toxic/biased kind. Her reasons are also understandable but she was also acting selfishly by only focusing on how SHE was effected by Aoi's death and not even considering those that were also grieving her death and/or that people grieve/handle grief differently than her. But back on topic.

Her own views and beliefs that law enforcement basically SHOULD be dismantled (mostly out of said childish bias and black & white views) and it's framed as WRONG and it's very much correct on that. Chaos and order are two sides of the same coin, one can't exist without the other. When I say ACAB, I'm calling for reform, defund, have the corrupt held accountable for EVERYTHING and even face jail time for their crimes! Defund the police, have the ones that arrest, harm, and even murder out of bias (race, gender, etc.), lose their badges/jobs and locked up, make improvements! It's saying that there IS still corruption out there and there's no denying it. But fully eliminating the law in general will just lead to more problems. Now granted, she's young and clearly doesn't fully understand why those views are ultimately wrong but still... It was a very interesting subject to tackle and I feel like they handled it well.

Now back to Zenkichi, he was at first in denial about his decisions ultimately being the wrong ones too and even tries to justify it. Of course, his Shadow said otherwise and that was when he finally admitted that he really did act no different from the criminals he despised. But it also doesn't mean he can't redeem himself and that's what ultimately leads to his new resolve:

That right there along with everything else! There's the nuance! And ultimately despite some hiccups, Strikers handled the grey morality and nuance beautifully! Especially regarding law enforcement! Dare I say, even better than the base game! It continues the critiques with no problem but also showing different sides and areas of it! There is good and evil, but what about in-between? What about the more greyer area? It still says that there IS corruption, sometimes even beyond saving but... Sometimes a small silver lining is hidden somewhere.

Now, the ultimate question:

Is P5 & P5S (namely the latter) Pro-Police or Anti-Police?

Personally, my answer is this: Neither.

Why? What theme do they both have in common?

JUSTICE

Someone puts it best on Twitter that the games are more pro-justice and I fully agree!

P5/P5S gives the idea about following your OWN justice, your OWN moral code and rules, paving your OWN path and not let others dictate it! That's what the MCs ultimately start to learn in both games. Therefore it's pro-justice. Again, do I agree that the system is beyond saving? Yeah. Do I at least acknowledge and understand what the narratives are trying to say and nuances regardless even if I don't agree with some writing decisions (ex: Makoto wanting to become a commissioner despite everything)? Also yes. But at the same time, don't judge a book by its cover for other people (not just law enforcement and politics mind you). Especially some that genuinely DO want to help at best. That there is nuance and greyness, just have to look closely. Some of the MCs are still TERRIBLY written and executed (even annoying) but the message was still somewhat there.

Final Thoughts

Now I fully understand how you all feel of course! I still believe in ACAB and even I agree that maybe I'm one to talk and have a lot more to learn about the world... This is just my own attempt at putting my own two cents in. If you disagree, that's fine! This is just what I've felt should be at least talked about more often. And I tried to phrase it as best as I can without coming off as insensitive or ignorant and if I did, I sincerely apologize for that! I'm not trying to say, come off as a "bootlicker" or any of the sort. I'm just trying show discuss more of the grey areas and nuances that are, more often than not, constantly overlooked. How one interprets both games is ultimately up to them. You, the player. And this is my own interpretation. Simple as that. I hope you all have a good day/afternoon/evening!